The selling isn’t over yet.
Stock futures pointed lower again Friday after Wall Street suffered the worst selloff since March 2020 in the previous session as the market continued to digest President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.8%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 1.1%, or 463 points, and futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6%. All three main indexes had their worst day since March 16, 2020 on Thursday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 plunged 4.8%, the Dow declined 4% and the Nasdaq Composite sank 6%.
In total, U.S. stocks listed on the major exchanges lost $3.1 trillion in market cap. The Magnificent Seven group of stocks accounted for just over $1 trillion of that, led by Apple, Amazon and Meta, which all fell 9%.
“The last 24 hours have been truly historic for markets, as the impact of the U.S. reciprocal tariffs cascaded across different asset classes, with no sign of letting up overnight,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said early Friday.
Economists estimate that Trump’s new taxes will push the average U.S. tariff rate to above 20%, up from around 2.5% last year. That threatens to fan inflation, crimp economic growth, and reduce company earnings.
Investors will be closely monitoring trade developments Friday, and particularly whether countries opt to retaliate or negotiate. Trump said late Thursday he might be willing to negotiate with countries over tariffs.
There are other things to keep an eye on, though. The jobs reports for March, due to be released later this morning. The data will give a key update on the labor market ahead of the latest tariffs taking effect–economists expect to see 130,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will also speak on Friday at a conference. He will probably be pressed on whether the impact of tariffs makes reductions in interest-rates more or less likely later this year—the next scheduled Fed decision is in early May.
For now, investors are fleeing to the safe haven of U.S. Treasuries. The yield on the 10-year government bond, which moves inversely to price, has dropped below 4% for the first time since October and traded at 3.94% early Friday. The yield on the two-year note fell to 3.613%.
