Stocks fell sharply in early trading Monday, extending last week’s massive sell-off, as the Trump administration showed no signs over the weekend of backing down from its plan to impose wide-ranging tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 4.2%, or more than 1,600 points, about 10 minutes after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 4.5% and 4.9%, respectively.
The major indexes are coming off their worst week since the early days of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, after stocks plunged on Thursday and Friday following President Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners. The benchmark S&P 500 declined 10.5% over the last two days of the week, while the Dow shed nearly 4,000 points.
Trump and other White House officials have provided no indication in recent days that the tariffs could be scaled back. Trump seemed to double down on his tariffs Sunday night, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” according to reports.
The so-called reciprocal tariffs that Trump announced on Wednesday— which include new levies of 20% on imports from the European Union, 26% on Japanese imports, and 34% on imports from China—are due to take effect on Wednesday.
The Trump administration, which has also indicated more sector-specific tariffs are coming, says the measures are needed to restore competitive balance and bring manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S. However, the speed and depth of the policies announced in recent weeks—and the prospect that countries will retaliate, as China did on Friday—have heightened concerns among economists and investors that the economy could slide into a recession.
EV maker Tesla (TSLA) and AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) were leading the decliners among mega-cap technology stocks this morning, falling 8% and 6%, respectively. Apple (AAPL) was down 6%, while Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) all fell more than 3%.
Among other noteworthy tech sector decliners in early trading, data analytics software provider Palantir (PLTR) dropped 7%, while chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC) slipped 7% and 5%, respectively.
Banking sector stocks remained under pressure this morning after posting steep declines late last week. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) each declined 3%, while Goldman Sachs (GS) dropped 5%.
Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy and one of the world’s largest holders of bitcoin, and trading platform Robinhood Markets (HOOD) both dropped more than 10% as the price of the digital currency plunged.
Bitcoin was trading at $76,300, down from about $84,000 on Friday afternoon. The legacy cryptocurrency is trading at its lowest level since around the time of the presidential election in early November, as investors reduce their exposure to risky assets.
Crude oil futures also continued sliding as the concerns rise about the possibility of a dramatic slowdown in global economic activity. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, were down 2.2% at $60.65 recently, after hitting a four-year low.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has fallen sharply in recent weeks amid the mounting concerns about a recession, was at 4.02% recently, up from 3.99% at Friday’s close. The yield, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, fell as low as 3.86% during Friday’s session, its lowest level since October.
Gold futures were up 0.3% at $3,045 an ounce.
Wall Street Banks Trim S&P 500 Forecasts
37 minutes ago
Banks are scaling back their 2025 outlooks for U.S. stocks as uncertainty about the economy and markets escalates.
The benchmark S&P 500 could slump to 4,700, a further 7%-8% decline from Friday’s close, if President Donald Trump sticks with his tariff plans or the Federal Reserve doesn’t ease interest rates, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.
The analysts said they had offered a 5,100-5,200 technical support level for the S&P 500 last Thursday but noted that “with the market quickly trading there on Friday and overnight futures down another 3-5% so far, our thoughts turn to the next area of support, which lies closer to the 200-week moving average, or 4700.”
Oppenheimer analysts on Monday cut their target to 5950 from 7100.
“The equity market appears oversold in our view,” Oppenheimer’s analysts wrote, “with uncertainty at levels investors find hard to embrace along with what we call ‘a negative pitch book’ that seemingly projects negative outcomes to infinity that’s taken hold in the near term of trader, investor, and consumer sentiment.
The index closed at 5,074.08 Friday, having suffered the seventh-worst week in the last 25 years, a decline of more than 9%. The S&P 500 was down nearly 5% in early trading Monday.
“Valuations also offer better support at that price so investors should be prepared for another 7-8% potential downside from Friday’s close if there is no line of sight to a less severe trade environment and the Fed remains firmly on hold,” Morgan Stanley’s analysts wrote.
Trump so far has shown no signs of backing down from the tariffs, while Fed officials have elected to keep their key interest rate steady. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that Trump’s larger-than-expected tariffs could stoke inflation and slow economic growth.
Bitcoin Price Levels to Watch as Cryptocurrency Slides
1 hr 22 min ago
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) dropped below the closely watched $80,000 level on Monday amid intensifying worries about the impact of tariffs.
The digital currency was at $77,400 recently, down from around $84,000 on Friday afternoon and trading at its lowest levels since November, as investors steer clear of risky assets.
After falling below the 200-day moving average (MA) last month, bitcoin’s price consolidated within a rising wedge before breaking down below the bearish pattern in late March, signaling a continuation move lower.
Indeed, the cryptocurrency’s price has continued its downtrend, with declines accelerating on Sunday evening after a brief period of sideways drift. It’s also worth pointing out that the 50-day MA has crossed below the 200-day MA to form an ominous death cross, a chart pattern that warns of further selling.
Investors should watch key support levels near $74,000, $65,000, and $57,000, while also monitoring a major overhead area near $87,000.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Futures Point to Sharply Lower Open for Major Indexes
2 hr 4 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 2.2%.
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S&P 500 futures were off 2.4%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures slid 2.7%.
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