Wall Street Crashes: Nasdaq Enters Bear Market

All three major U.S. stock indexes plunged on Friday, April 4, 2025, after China announced sweeping retaliatory tariffs on all imports from the United States—heightening fears of a full-blown global trade war and economic downturn.

This marked Wall Street’s worst single-day loss since March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nasdaq officially entered bear market territory—down more than 20% from its all-time closing high of 20,173.89 on December 16. Meanwhile, the Dow confirmed a correction, now down 14.9% from its December 4 peak of 45,014.04.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.5% to 38,314.86

• S&P 500 dropped 6% to 5,074.08

• Nasdaq Composite sank 5.82% to 15,587.79

Billions Wiped from U.S. Markets

The sharp sell-off was triggered by China’s announcement of a 34% tariff on all U.S. goods, a direct response to the Trump administration’s steep 54% duties on Chinese imports unveiled Wednesday. Investors, already on edge, began pricing in the possibility of wider retaliation from other U.S. trading partners and a deeper global recession.

Trump’s aggressive trade stance—the most protectionist in over a century—sparked a wave of stock dumping as markets reassessed the outlook for economic growth, corporate profits, and global supply chains.

Apple Hit Hard

Apple shares tumbled another 6% on Friday, compounding Thursday’s losses. The tech giant, heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing and global logistics, faces sharply higher costs due to the new tariffs.

Jobs Report Overshadowed

The latest U.S. jobs report showed 228,000 nonfarm payrolls added in March, beating forecasts of 137,000. However, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. Despite the stronger-than-expected hiring data, it did little to calm investor nerves amid the growing trade tensions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Ignacio Teson

Economist and Financial Analyst

Ignacio Teson is an Economist and Financial Analyst. He has more than 7 years of experience in emerging markets. He worked as an analyst and market operator at brokerage firms in Argentina and Spain.

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