Equity Markets Slide as Tariff Concerns Weigh on Investors

Equity Markets Slide as Tariff Concerns Weigh on Investors

U.S. equity markets closed sharply lower on Thursday as investor sentiment soured following President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs.

• Nasdaq Composite: Fell 6% to 16,550.6

• S&P 500: Declined 4.8% to 5,396.5

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Dropped 4% to 40,545.9

Sector Performance

All S&P 500 sectors, except consumer staples, ended in negative territory, with energy and technology suffering the biggest losses.

• Energy sector: Plunged 7.5%, leading market declines as crude oil prices slumped 6.8% due to tariffs and OPEC+ expediting production increases.

• Consumer staples: Gained 0.7%, benefiting from a defensive shift and strong earnings from Lamb Weston (LW), which surged 10% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.

Trading volume was notably high, with 20.90 billion shares exchanged, well above the 16.13 billion daily average over the last 20 trading sessions.

Treasury Yields & Commodities

• 10-year Treasury yield: Dropped 6.5 basis points to 4.1%

• 2-year Treasury yield: Fell 14.2 basis points to 3.7%

• Crude Oil (WTI - May): Slid 7% to $66.69 per barrel

• Gold: Declined 1.3% to $3,125.3 per troy ounce

• Silver: Plummeted 8.2% to $31.80 per troy ounce

Company Highlights

• Tech Sector Hit Hard:

  • Dell Technologies (DELL): -19% (worst performer in the S&P 500)

  • Apple (AAPL): -9.3%

  • HP (HPQ): -14%

  • Morgan Stanley warned that these companies are highly exposed to new tariffs due to their reliance on international manufacturing.

• Aldeyra Therapeutics (ALDX): -73%

  • The stock plummeted after the FDA rejected its reproxalap drug application, citing a failure to demonstrate efficacy in treating dry eye symptoms.

• Lamb Weston (LW): +10%

  • The frozen potato product supplier topped expectations with strong quarterly earnings, offsetting lower prices.

• Kroger (KR): +5.2%

  • Benefited from an upgraded price target by Guggenheim and favorable analyst commentary from Morgan Stanley, which noted that retailers with lower exposure to imported goods, like Kroger, Walmart (WMT), and Costco (COST), could be better positioned to withstand tariff impacts.