Amid renewed political pressures, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, citing a need for interest rate cuts to avoid economic slowdown. Concurrently, no progress in U.S.-China trade relations caused U.S. stock markets to decline significantly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell up to 1,311 points or 3.4%, closing with a 971-point drop, equating to 2.5%, at 38,170 points. The Nasdaq Composite saw a decrease of up to 601 points or 3.7%, closing down by 415 points or 2.6%, at 15,870 points. The S&P 500 Index dropped 124 points or 2.4%, settling at 5,158 points.
The technology sector, referred to as the "Magnificent Seven," contributed to the Nasdaq's decline, with Tesla (TSLA) leading a 5.8% drop due to delays in affordable vehicle plans. Nvidia (NVDA) fell 4.5%, while Meta (META) and Amazon (AMZN) both lost over 3%. Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) declined over 2%, and Apple (AAPL, Financial) dropped 1.9%. Conversely, Netflix (NFLX) saw a 1.5% increase in stock price after reporting record first-quarter profits and a projected doubling in ad sales for the year.
