The New York stock market started on a downward trend on the last day of March. Tension heightened just two days before President Donald Trump’s mutual tariff implementation day, referred to as 'American Liberation Day' (April 2), causing a wave of 'tech stock sell-offs' to arise again.
As of 10:30 a.m. local time on the 31st, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a group of blue-chip stocks, recorded 40,423.34, down 160.56 points (0.39%) from the previous session at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The large-cap benchmark Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 index fell by 59.97 points (1.07%) to 5,520.97, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 372.18 points (2.15%) to 16,950.81.
The three major indices all closed sharply lower on the previous trading day, the 28th. It marked three consecutive trading days of decline. In addition to tariff concerns, the February Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index and the March consumer sentiment index rekindled fears of stagflation (low growth and high prices), triggering another sell-off storm. The Nasdaq index plunged 2.70%, falling deeper into correction territory (more than 10% down from its peak).
Currently, the Nasdaq index is about 16% lower than its peak recorded on Dec. 16 of last year (20,204.58). The S&P 500 index is also down more than 10% from its peak of 6,147.43, recorded on Feb. 19, moving back into correction territory.
The S&P 500 index has fallen more than 7% so far in March. If this trend continues until the close, it will mark the worst monthly decline since September 2022, when it dropped 9.3%. So far, the Nasdaq index’s monthly decline is about 10%, and the Dow index is over 5%.
Amid uncertainties surrounding tariffs that have weighed on the stock market, some media reported that President Trump instructed tariff officials to 'take a more aggressive approach' in recent days and has not softened his firm stance on tariffs. Trump is expected to announce mutual tariffs on the 2nd of next month, just two days later. The subjects, scope, and scale of the tariffs remain unknown.
On this day, among the seven stocks in the large tech stock group 'Magnificent 7' (M7), six stocks plummeted, leading to the market collapse. Tesla dropped more than 6%, Nvidia over 5%, Amazon by about 4%, and Microsoft and Meta (the parent company of Facebook) by over 2%. Alphabet (the parent company of Google) fell more than 1%, while Apple rose by less than 1%. The stock price of Nvidia has retreated more than 24% so far this year, about 32% lower than its all-time high of $153.13 set in January.