President Donald Trump’s new tariff plan continued to send markets sliding lower on Monday, with the sell-off for major tech and media companies like Apple providing an inauspicious start to the week.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones were all down between 3.13% and 4.17% about 30 minutes into trading on Monday, extending the decline that started on Thursday morning following the unveiling of the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. All three major indexes dropped more than 5.5% on Friday. The S&P is in bear market territory, which is defined as stocks declining by 20% or more over days or weeks.
Apple, which saw more than $500 billion wiped from its market cap last week, continued to drop on Monday, declining 6.34%; the world’s most valuable company is now trading for $179.39 per share, after trading for more than $223 per share last Wednesday.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social before markets opened on Monday, called on investors to hang tough while global economies adjusted to his tariffs.
“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,” the president posted. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”
In the two days following Trump’s tariff announcement last week, the markets saw $5.4 trillion in value evaporate while the S&P 500 plummeted to its lowest level in 11 months. Friday’s sell-off market the biggest single-day decline for the S&P 500 and Dow since COVID-19 rocked the market in March 2020, while the Nasdaq suffered its biggest single-day hit since 2020 on Thursday.
The tumult has prompted some Trump allies to come out and question his decision on tariffs, including even Elon Musk and activist investor Bill Ackman.
Also on Monday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual shareholder letter that Trump’s tariffs could spur more inflation, and put the brakes on an already vulnerable economy.
Trump dismissed over the weekend investors’ fears of inflation and recession. “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” the president said.
Also over the weekend, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reiterated that the tariffs would go forward as planned, despite the downturn on Wall Street. “There is no postponing. They are definitely going to stay in place for days and weeks. That is sort of obvious.” Lutnick told CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “The president needs to reset global trade. Everybody has a trade surplus and we have a trade deficit.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied the U.S. is heading into a recession as some economists are now predicting, saying that most people ready to retire aren’t sweating day-to-day fluctuations in the stock market where many have their nest eggs tied up.
Global markets had already been hit hard by the time trading started in New York on Monday, with stocks in Asia and Europe plunging. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said the EU “stands ready to negotiate” with the U.S., before adding it is “also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests.” Her comments come a day after Lutnick said more than 50 countries have reached out to the Trump Administration to negotiate deals.
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