The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 have both fallen into a technical bear market, with U.S. stocks losing approximately $11.1 trillion since Trump's inauguration
Since January 17, the U.S. stock market has lost approximately $11.1 trillion in market value, with both the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 indices entering a technical bear market. The Trump administration's announcement of a new round of tariff plans has triggered market panic, resulting in a loss of about $6.6 trillion over the past two days. Despite the March employment data being better than expected, market sentiment remains sluggish, with investors concerned that the escalation of the China-U.S. trade war could lead to an economic recession. The S&P 500 index has fallen 15.4% since Trump's re-election, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has decreased by 11.9%
According to data from Dow Jones Market, since January 17 (the Friday before President Trump's inauguration for his second term), the U.S. stock market has lost approximately $11.1 trillion in market value. Among them, just in the past Thursday and Friday, about $6.6 trillion was lost, setting a record for the largest two-day market value decline in history.
The trigger for this plunge was the Trump administration's sudden announcement on Wednesday of a new round of tariffs that far exceeded market expectations, catching investors off guard. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, pointed out in an email comment that financial markets are putting strong pressure on the White House to either reduce the proposed tariffs or announce substantial progress in negotiations.
Although President Trump stated on Truth Social that he had a "productive call" with the Vietnamese leader, which led to a 3% rise in the stock price of Nike (NKE.US), which has significant production facilities in Vietnam, this news did not effectively halt the market's downward trend.
Despite the better-than-expected employment data for March released on Friday, market sentiment did not see a significant boost. Investors' concerns are focused on the risk of further escalation in the U.S.-China trade war. Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, warned in an interview: "If the U.S. continues to retaliate strongly, the technology sector and even the overall economy could suffer damage, potentially leading to a recession and ending the bull market we are familiar with."
As of Friday's close, the S&P 500 index has fallen 15.4% since Trump took office again, exceeding the performance of the first 75 days of George W. Bush's first term. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 11.9%; while the Russell 2000 index, which is dominated by small-cap stocks, has recorded the worst start since any new government took office.
It is worth noting that although the Nasdaq index reached a historical closing high of 20,056.25 points on February 19, it has since fallen over 22%, officially entering a technical bear market. The Russell 2000 index has dropped over 25% since reaching a historical high of 2,442.03 points on November 25 of last year, also falling into bear market territory.
As of this Friday, the U.S. stock market has recorded its largest single-week decline since the COVID crisis in March 2020.
Analysts point out that weak market performance during the early days of a new president's term is not uncommon, but the extent of this sell-off is "extremely extreme." Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, stated that historically, the third and fourth years of a presidential term usually see stronger stock market performance, while the first quarter of the first year tends to be relatively flat.
However, amid the current backdrop of increasing uncertainty in trade policy, pressure on technology stock valuations, and rising recession risks, the market urgently needs the government to release clearer signals of easing in trade policy to restore investor confidence