A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on April 3, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid Thursday night after President Donald Trump’s tariff plan triggered the biggest slide in U.S. equities in five years.
Futures tied to the blue-chip index lost 91 points, or 0.2%, after the 30-stock average tumbled more than 1,600 points in the prior session. S&P 500 futures shed 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched 0.1% lower.
Thursday night’s action follows the worst day since 2020 for each of the three major indexes. The Dow and S&P 500 dropped roughly 4% and 4.8%, respectively, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged nearly 6%.
The S&P 500 fell back into a correction Thursday, down more than 10% from its February all-time high. The small-cap focused Russell 2000 dove more than 6%, the first widely-followed measure of U.S. stocks to enter a bear market, or a decline of at least 20% from its last peak.
Thursday’s sell-off hit megacap technology stocks especially hard, with CNBC’s Magnificent Seven index sliding more than 6%. Collectively, the stocks in the Magnificent Seven, which led the market higher in both 2023 and 2024, lost more than $1 trillion in market value.
The Nasdaq Composite has led the way lower for stocks this week, falling 4.5% as the tariff plan drove investors to reduce their risk exposure. The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials have slipped 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively, week to date. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are tracking for their worst weekly performances since September 2024 and sixth negative week of the last seven.
Global markets sold off after Trump on Wednesday announced a baseline tariff rate of 10% on imported goods from all countries going into effect April 5. Several nations face far higher levies, according to the White House.
Investors now wonder if countries will be able to strike trade deals with the U.S. to reduce tariff duties. Trump said Thursday he’s open to trade negotiations, an about-face from earlier statements by administration officials.
“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,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “Investors are selling first and asking questions later.”
Investors on Friday morning will focus on the closely watched jobs report for March. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 140,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.1%.
