Trump's Aggressive Tariff Plan Sparks Market Concerns

According to BlockBeats, U.S. President Donald Trump's unexpectedly aggressive tariff plan has heightened investor fears of a full-blown trade war potentially leading to an economic recession. On Thursday, major U.S. stock indices experienced significant declines, with the Nasdaq dropping 5.97%, marking its largest single-day fall since March 2020. The S&P 500 fell 4.84%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 3.98%, both experiencing their biggest single-day drops since June 2020. Large technology stocks suffered substantial losses due to anticipated supply chain disruptions from the tariffs, with Apple plummeting over 9%. The combined market value of the 'Magnificent 7' tech giants lost approximately $1 trillion in a day, reaching its lowest point since early August last year. The cryptocurrency market also saw widespread declines. Bitcoin fell from a pre-tariff announcement high of $88,000 to below $81,000, a significant drop but relatively resilient compared to tech stocks. Various market sectors experienced sharp declines, with the overall crypto market capitalization dropping nearly 8%. The crypto fear and greed index, which had shown some recovery in March, returned to the 'extreme fear' range. The forex and commodities markets were similarly affected. The U.S. dollar index fell 1.61% to its lowest level since October 2024, erasing all gains since Trump's election. The prospect of slowing global economic growth caused oil prices to plummet nearly 7%, the largest single-day drop since July 2022. Spot gold prices remained relatively stable, showing little change from the previous trading day. Trump's tariff announcement has caused turmoil in financial markets, with the March non-farm payroll report set to be released tonight. Before the potential impact of import tariffs on the data, the labor market is expected to remain stable. Market attention is focused on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming speech. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders' pessimism about the U.S. economic outlook has significantly increased the likelihood of emergency rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, with the expected number of rate cuts this year rising from two to four over the past month.