US Stock Market Crash Update: Wall Street suffered heavy losses on Wednesday, with the stocks of technology giants NVIDIA and Apple plunging 5-10 per cent, amid rising trade tariff-related tensions after the World Trade Organization (WTO) cautioned that its outlook for the global trade situation has deteriorated sharply thanks to US President Donald Trump’s stance on tariffs. The move comes roughly two weeks into the 47th US President’s harsh trade tariffs on America’s trade partners including China and India on April 2, a move that triggered a series of tit-for-tat actions by the world’s second largest economy after the US.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)—one of the two main American blue-chip indices—spiralled as much as 931.2 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 39,437.8 in intraday trade. The S&P 500 plunged 175.8 points, or 3.3 per cent, to hit 5,220.8 on the downside while the US technology stocks-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell to as low as 16,066.5, shedding 756.7 points, or 4.4 per cent, during the session.
At 3:22 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday (12:55 am in India on Thursday), the Dow was trading not far from its day’s low, at 39,460.9, down 908.01 points, or 2.3 per cent, from its previous close.
The WTO expects the world’s overall volume of merchandise trade is expected to take a blow of 0.2 per cent this year on account of the tariffs in force, including Trump’s decision to pause the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.
What led the market crash on Wall Street?
Heavy selling pressure in technology, financial and consumer discretionary shares weighted on the indices amid an across-the-board sell-off on Wall Street.
Among blue-chip stocks, NVIDIA was last seen trading 10.3 per cent lower at $100.7 apiece, while Apple and Amgen were down 5.0 per cent each.
What Fed Chair Jerome Powell said
The Federal Reserve Chairman’s remarks that the US economy continues to be in a solid position lent some respite to the bulls, helping the Dow avoid sharper losses.
The US central bank, he said, is waiting for more clarity on the prevailing economics situation before considering changes to monetary policy.
ALSO READ: US-China Trade War Escalates: China now faces up to 245% tariffs from US, says White House
Earlier on Wednesday, the White House revealed that China now faces a tariff of up to 245% per cent on its exports to the US in light of its retaliatory action, following China restricting its airlines to stop taking the deliveries of Boeing aircraft.
Prior to that, China reacted to the Trump administration’s decisions by imposing a 145 per cent duty on its imports from the US.
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