U.S. stock markets experienced a significant downturn, with all three major indices closing lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 699.57 points, or 1.73%, to 39,669.39. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 516.01 points, or 3.07%, to 16,307.16, while the S&P 500 decreased by 120.93 points, or 2.24%, to 5,275.70.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell issued a warning regarding the inflationary effects of President Trump's trade policies, suggesting that tariffs could temporarily boost inflation and have long-lasting impacts.
Tech stocks saw a broad decline, with Tesla falling 4.94%, Apple 3.89%, Facebook 3.68%, Microsoft 3.66%, Amazon 2.93%, and Google 1.91%. Chip stocks also suffered, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and ASML dropping over 7%, Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) 6.87%, and others like GlobalFoundries and KLA-Tencor down over 5%.
Bank stocks were not spared, with Citigroup dropping over 3%, Morgan Stanley more than 2%, and others like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs down over 1%. Energy stocks, however, saw gains, with ExxonMobil, Schlumberger, and Occidental Petroleum rising over 1%.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 rose 0.32%, while France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX had mixed results. Oil prices increased, with WTI crude rising to $62.47 per barrel. Gold prices continued to climb, with spot gold up 3.48% to $3,342.48 per ounce.
