Markets Retreat

After inching eerily close to circuit-breaker level, the S&P 500 came off its lows of the day to finish down by approximately 3.3%. The broader stock market was under pressure all day long, leading to a nearly 1,000-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 4% loss for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.

While President Trump’s tariff relief worked yesterday, today was a different story as the markets were fixated on the unresolved China and U.S. trade war. President Trump’s White House has placed a 145% levy on Chinese imports. Despite the tariffs, Big Tech companies like Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) are not relenting on AI capex spending.

Here’s a look at today’s closing numbers right after the closing bell:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 964.73 (-2.38%)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 698.15 (-4.08%)
S&P 500: Down 181.50 (-3.3%)

The S&P 500 is sinking over 6% as it nears what is known as a circuit break breaker in which trading is halted to prevent further panic. The first level of circuit breaker is 7%, which is only a stone’s throw from current declines. President Trump is currently addressing a Cabinet meeting while stocks respond to China tariff fears. CarMax (NYSE: KMX) remains one of the worst performers of the day, shaving off 20% of its value today. Trillions of dollars in market value are being erased in a highly volatile week of trading.

The markets are paying little attention to President Trump’s tariff pause, choosing instead to focus on the possibility of an economic recession or even depression. The three major stock market averages remain under intense selling pressure, including a 2.6% drop in the S&P 500 today.

Wall Street firm Citigroup has upgraded its outlook on U.S. stocks now that President Trump has found tariff middle ground. So far that improved forecast has failed to lift sentiment in a fear-filled market.