Wall Street is not Main Street — but this week, investors and consumers alike seem terrified of how President Trump's tariffs could upend the global economy.
The pain continued for U.S. stocks on Friday, a day after the stock market suffered its worst day in five years.
On Friday morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a further 1,200 points — or 3% — shortly after the open. That deepened its Thursday selloff of nearly 1,700 points, or 4%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500, which tracks the largest U.S. companies, also continued to tumble: Both fell more than 3.5% on Friday morning.
Trump shocked businesses, investors, and global trading partners on Wednesday, when he announced that his long-promised tariffs would affect almost all U.S. imports. He has imposed the taxes on U.S. allies and foes alike: Most U.S. imports will now face tariffs of at least 10 percent, with higher taxes on goods from the European Union, Japan, China, and dozens of other countries.
The global trade war intensified on Friday. China responded to Trump's taxes with a reciprocal 34% tariff on all U.S. imports; other countries are also likely to retaliate.
Shock and anger
Economists warn the new taxes will result in higher prices and slower growth in the United States — while spilling over into other countries and hurting the global economy.
Investment bank JPMorgan on Thursday warned that the tariffs are likely to push the U.S. and the world into a recession.
Businesses of all sizes reacted with shock and anger as they processed the sweeping costs that they — and their customers — will now have to pay to continue doing business.
Consumer spending is already slowing down, while consumer confidence has plummeted. And even a reassuring jobs report on Friday morning — with employers adding more jobs than expected last month — couldn't quiet widespread market fears about the outlook for the post-tariffs economy.
Copyright 2025 NPR