Americans watch in horror as savings are WIPED OUT as Wall Street chaos sees trillions more dollars evaporate
Wall Street has had its worst two-day wipeout in history - with $6.6 trillion wiped off the value of US stocks.
After plunging yesterday, stocks crashed again on Friday as it looks increasingly likely that President Donald Trump's tariffs will cause a global recession.
US stocks have lost about $11.1 trillion in value since January 17 — the Friday before President Trump began his second term, according to MarketWatch analysis Dow Jones Market Data.
About $6.6 trillion of that was wiped out on Thursday and Friday alone — marking the biggest two-day loss of shareholder value ever recorded, according to the data.
Markets have seen bigger percentage drops, such as in 1929 when they tumbled 25 percent over October 28 and 29 that year, but never as much in dollar terms.
This week's carnage has hit ordinary Americans whose retirement savings, including 401(K) are tied to the market.
When markets closed in New York at 4pm, the S&P 500 was down 5.97 percent. The Nasdaq plummeted 5.82 percent and The Dow Jones 5.5 percent.
That follows Thursday's losses for the three major US indices, which ranged between 4 percent and 6 percent. The S&P 500 had its worst since March 2020, when the pandemic crashed the economy.
The Dow Jones plunged by as much as 2,100 points Friday before slightly recovering
Stock traders saw a historic drop in prices Thurday and Friday
President Trump slapped 34 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports
Friday's selloff came after China imposed fresh tariffs on all US goods overnight, retaliating against President Trump's sweeping levies announced Wednesday and further escalating a global trade war.
Despite the carnage, panicking Americans checking their 401(K)s, IRAs and trading apps were advised to sit tight for now and not panic sell. They should speak to the experts managing their investments and seek out a financial advisor if they do not have one.
Some experts say it will be short term pain and stocks will recover. Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary thinks Trump has a solid plan.
So far there have been few, if any, winners in financial markets from the trade war. Stocks for all but 12 of the 500 companies that make up the S&P 500 index fell Friday.
Oil prices fell as much as 8 percent, a sign that investors believe shipping between America and the rest of the world will soon shut down.
Even gold, a traditional safe haven that recently hit record highs, pulled lower.
'The world has changed, and the economic conditions have changed,' said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.
The central question looking ahead is: Will the trade war cause a global recession? If it does, stock prices will likely come down even more than they have already. The S&P 500 is down 17.4 percent from its record set in February.
A screen displays financial news as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Robert Greason works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A screen displays financial news as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Global stocks are heading toward a second day of precipitous drops
The tariffs have sent shockwaves through global financial markets, raising fears of a worldwide economic downturn and sharp price hikes across sectors in the world's biggest consumer market.
'The Trump administration may be playing a game of chicken with trading partners, but market participants aren't willing to wait around for the results,' Michael Arone, investment expert at State Street Global Advisors said.
'Investors are selling first and asking questions later.'
Trump's 'baseline' 10 percent tariff on goods imported from around the world is due to come into effect shortly in the early hours of Saturday.
Many other countries will see their tariff rates increase above that next week – including the EU at 20 percent and China at 34 percent. A 25 percent tariff imposed on all foreign cars imported into the US came into effect on Thursday.
China's finance ministry said it would impose a matching 34 percent tariff on all US goods from April 10.
The tariffs have sent shockwaves through global financial markets, raising fears of a worldwide economic downturn and sharp price hikes across sectors in the world's biggest consumer market.
One bright spot Friday was a surprisingly strong jobs report. The US added 228,000 jobs last month.
