Tariffs ravage the stock market and commodities, U.S. stocks suffer their worst day since 2020, small-cap indices enter a bear market, Apple drops over 9%, crude oil falls over 6%, U.S. Treasury bonds and Swiss franc surge

On Thursday, Trump's new round of tariff policies triggered an accelerated withdrawal of international funds, leading to a double whammy in stocks and currencies. The U.S. stock market experienced its largest decline in over two years, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index plummeting 5.9%, marking its biggest single-day drop in recent years. The market value loss of MAG7 stocks today reached up to $1 trillion, with total market capitalization falling to its lowest level since early August. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index dropped over 1.6%, hitting a new low since October of last year.

Trump's tariff policies have sparked dissatisfaction among various countries. French President Macron called for European companies to suspend investments in the U.S. until the tariff issues are "clarified"; Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced a 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. automobiles. Although Japan and the UK did not immediately announce retaliation, both expressed "extreme regret" over the tariff policies and hinted at possible follow-up actions.

On Thursday afternoon U.S. time, Trump downplayed the market reaction to the tariff policies, stating that "the market will prosper," but investors clearly did not buy it. Risk aversion pushed the yen and Swiss franc to appreciate over 2%, while the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds plunged more than 10 basis points during the session. After the release of the ISM index, the 10-year yield fell below 4.0% for the first time in six months. Spot gold saw a V-shaped reversal after some investors took profits, rising again to around $3,110.

Despite many investors worrying about the inflation effects of the tariffs, the decline in bond yields and the depreciation of the dollar indicate that most are more concerned about slowing economic growth. This led investors to believe that the Federal Reserve may need to cut rates more aggressively. Traders had originally expected the Fed to cut rates three more times this year, each by 25 basis points, but financial markets now suggest that the likelihood of a fourth rate cut by the Fed has increased.

The S&P index experienced its largest single-day drop since March 2020. In the past decade, the index has only fallen more than 4.5% six times, all during the pandemic. The Russell 2000 index has already dropped nearly 22% from its peak this year, reaching its lowest level since January 2024. Due to the Trump administration imposing high tariffs on countries that manufacture shoes and clothing, consumer brand stock prices have also declined, with Nike's stock price dropping 14.44%.

The "darkest hour" for the three major U.S. stock indices:

• The S&P 500 index closed down 274.45 points, a decline of 4.84%, marking the largest single-day drop since June 2020, closing at 5,396.52 points.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1,679.39 points, a decline of 3.98%. The Nasdaq closed down 1,050.44 points, a decline of 5.97%.

• The Nasdaq 100 Index closed down 1,060.30 points, a decline of 5.41%, at 18,521.47 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 6.94%, at 1,467.8098 points.
• The Russell 2000 Index closed down 6.59%, marking the largest single-day decline since June 2020, at 1,910.55 points.

• The VIX (Volatility Index) closed up 39.28%, at 29.96.

U.S. Stock Sector ETFs in Disarray:

• Regional Bank ETF closed down 10.33%. The Banking ETF fell 9.16%, while the Global Airline ETF and Semiconductor ETF both dropped over 8%.

"Tech Seven Sisters" All Declined:

• The Magnificent 7 Index of the seven major U.S. tech stocks fell 6.76%, at 137.21 points.
• All 7 stocks in MAG7 declined, with Microsoft experiencing the smallest drop of about 2%, while Apple plummeted nearly 10%.
• Amazon fell nearly 9%, marking the largest single-day decline since April 2022. Meta dropped 8.96%, NVIDIA fell 7.77%, Tesla decreased by 5.47%, and Google A dropped 4.02%.

Chip Stocks Plummeted:

• The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed down 9.88%, marking the worst single-day performance since March 2020, at 3,893.68 points.
• AMD fell 8.90%, and TSMC ADR dropped 7.64%.

AI Concept Stocks Suffered Heavy Losses:

• Applovin closed down significantly, with a decline of 9.78%. Tempus AI also fell sharply by 7.46%.

Chinese Concept Stocks Outperformed the Market:

• The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 1.90%, at 7,550.00 points, still outperforming the market.
• Among popular Chinese concept stocks, Pinduoduo fell 4.54%, Tencent Holdings ADR rose 0.37%, Xiaomi ADR rebounded by 3.7%, and Fangdd rose 6.07%.

Other Key Stocks:

• Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares, owned by Warren Buffett, fell 1.41%.
• The "Trump Tariff Losers" Index dropped 15.19%, at 78.57 points. Component stock FIVE Below fell 27.81%, Wayfair dropped 25.59%, SharkNinja and Gap fell over 20%, and Nike decreased by 14.4% European stock markets fell to a two-month low, with most sectors including banking, technology, and consumer goods declining. Concerns over a global trade slowdown led to a drop in the stock price of Danish shipping giant Maersk, while shares of major European banks such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Commerzbank also fell.

Pan-European Stocks:

• The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 2.57%, at 523.12 points.

• The Eurozone STOXX 50 index closed down 3.59%, at 5113.28 points.

National Indices Plummet:

• Major European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and Denmark saw significant declines in their stock indices, with Italy, France, and Germany dropping over 3%. The Danish OMX Copenhagen 20 index closed down 2.31%.

• In contrast, the declines in the Spanish and UK indices were relatively smaller, both closing down around 1%.

Sectors and Individual Stocks:

• Major sectors in Europe generally saw significant declines, with the banking sector experiencing the most notable drop, as the STOXX 600 banking index closed down 5.53%;

• The oil and gas sector followed closely, with the index closing down 4.90%; the basic resources sector also performed poorly, with the index closing down 4.67%.

• In terms of individual stocks, Logitech International fell 16.53%, Standard Chartered Group dropped 13.32%, and Volvo Group declined 12.43%.

Investors flocked to the government bond market seeking a safe haven, leading to declines in U.S. and European bond yields.

U.S. Bonds:

• At the New York close, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell by 10.22 basis points to 4.0286%, trading within a range of 4.0984%-3.9966% during the day.
• The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury bond fell by 17.67 basis points to 3.6817%, trading within a range of 3.8625%-3.6796% during the day.

European Bonds:

• At the European close, the yield on the 10-year German government bond fell by 6.9 basis points to 2.651%, trading within a range of 2.720%-2.625% during the day, mostly oscillating at low levels.
• The yield on the 10-year UK government bond fell by 12.1 basis points to 4.520%, remaining in a downward trend throughout the day.
• The average yield on sovereign bonds from France, Italy, Spain, and Greece fell by 4.55 basis points, with the yield on the 10-year French government bond dropping by 5.0 basis points to 3.378%, showing an L-shaped trend throughout the day.

The U.S. dollar faced a bloodbath, falling to its lowest level since October 2024, erasing all gains since Trump's election.

US Dollar:

• At the New York close, the US Dollar Index fell 1.61% to 102.132 points, with an intraday trading range of 101.267-102.500 points.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Index fell 1.51% to 1251.99 points, with an intraday trading range of 1244.84-1255.00 points.

Non-US Currencies:

• The euro against the US dollar rose 2.7% at one point to a high of 1.1144, marking the largest intraday increase since 2015.
• The British pound against the US dollar rose 0.6% to 1.3089, the highest since October 2024.
• The US dollar against the Swiss franc fell 3.1% at one point to 0.8547, the largest decline since June 2022.
• The US dollar against the Canadian dollar fell 1.1% to 1.4087, the lowest intraday level since December.

Japanese Yen:

• The US dollar against the Japanese yen plummeted 2.16% to 146.06 yen, the lowest since October 2024.
• The 1-year US dollar against the Japanese yen risk reversal rose to 120 basis points, with demand for put options exceeding call options, the highest in nearly seven months.

Offshore Renminbi:

• At the New York close, the US dollar against the offshore renminbi exchange rate was 7.2804 yuan, up 160 points from Wednesday's New York close, with an overall intraday trading range of 7.3484-7.2747 yuan.

Cryptocurrency:

• Bitcoin fell over $7,000 at one point since Trump announced tariffs, dropping below the $82,000 mark.

The outlook for a slowdown in global economic growth is also putting pressure on commodities. Oil prices fell further after OPEC+ accelerated its supply increase plans. Crude oil prices plummeted nearly 7%, marking the largest single-day decline since July 2022.

Crude Oil:

• WTI May crude oil futures closed down $4.76, a decline of nearly 6.64%, at $66.95 per barrel.

• Brent June crude oil futures closed down $4.81, a decline of nearly 6.42%, at $70.14 per barrel.

Natural Gas:

• NYMEX May natural gas futures closed up over 2.04%, at $4.1380 per million British thermal units Spot gold turned down after refreshing its historical high near $3168, then V-shaped reversal rose again to around $3110. New York silver futures fell 7.9%. London copper closed down over 3.4%, London zinc fell 2.4%, and London tin dropped from its highest level since 2022.

Gold:

• At the New York close, spot gold fell 0.54%, reported at $3117.40 per ounce. After refreshing its historical high at $3167.84 in the Asia-Pacific session, it fluctuated downward.

• COMEX gold futures for June contract fell 1.07%, reported at $3132.40 per ounce. The August contract fell 1.81%, reported at $3154.70.

Silver:

• Spot silver fell 6.05%, reported at $31.8289 per ounce.

• COMEX silver futures fell 7.92%, reported at $31.905 per ounce.

Other Metals:

• At the New York close, COMEX copper futures fell 4.34%, reported at $4.8125 per pound.

• LME copper fell over 3.44%, reported at $9366 per ton; LME zinc fell 2.41%, reported at $2714 per ton; LME aluminum fell over 1.68%, reported at $2448 per ton.

• LME tin closed down $587, a drop of about 1.55%, reported at $37334 per ton. In the Asia-Pacific early session, London tin had risen to $38190, continuing to set the highest level since mid-May 2022