Trump tariffs shake US markets: S&P 500, Nasdaq hit six-month low as April 2 nears

US Stock Market: The stock markets in the United States dropped to a six-month low on Monday, March 31, as Wall Street opened lower over fears looming about the upcoming tariffs from the Donald Trump administration on April 2.

At 9:30 a.m. (EDT), The US benchmark indices opened lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.68 per cent, dropping to 41,293.25 points at the market open, compared to 41,583.90 points at the stock market close on Friday.

According to Marketwatch data, the Dow Jones index was trading 0.20 per cent lower at 41,510.63 points as per the early US market trends after opening lower.

The S&P 500 dropped to its six-month low levels on Monday, currently trading 0.94 per cent lower at 5,527.19 points after opening 1.01 per cent lower at 5,524.77 points, compared to 5,580.94 points at the previous market close.

Along with the S&P 500 index, the Nasdaq Composite also dropped 1.58 per cent to 17,039.68 points after Monday’s US markets open, compared to 17,322.99 points at Friday’s market close.

Donald Trump Tariffs

US President Donald Trump is set to announce a new set of tariffs for the world on April 2. Trump branded April 2 to be the ‘Liberation Day’ where he plans to launch reciprocal tariffs which aims to rebalance global trade and boost manufacturing for the Western nation.

Investors all over the world raised their concerns about the upcoming US tariffs on nations. However, the White House has not announced any specific details on the rates of the upcoming tariffs or how will they be calculated, along with the details on which countries may qualify for exceptions.

The upcoming new tariffs are set to build on existing tariffs on aluminium, steel, and auto imports into the Western nation. Earlier, President Donald Trump also pledged 25 per cent tariffs on imported vehicles along with suggestions to hike tariffs on pharma, lumber, semiconductors, and copper imports.

Dow Jones Stocks

According to Marketwatch data, companies like Nvidia Corp., Amazon Inc., Microsoft Corp., Salesforce Inc., Boeing Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Walt Disney Co., American Express Co., Caterpillar Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., 3M Co., Visa Inc., and Merck & Co. Inc. were the top losers in the early market session on Wall Street.

Others like Coca-Cola Co., Verizon Communications Inc., Walmart Inc., Amgen Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Chevron Corp., UnitedHealth Group Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Travelers Cos. Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Home Depot Inc., McDonald’s Corp., Nike Inc., Sherwin-Williams Co., Honeywell International Inc., and Apple Inc were trading in the green on Monday.

(This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.)