U.S. stocks continue plunging, Dow Jones loses 2,231 points

Wall Street sheds nearly 6% more as tariffs continue to take toll

Lola Evans
05 Apr 2025, 01:48 GMT+10

U.S. stocks continue plunging, Dow Jones loses 2,231 points

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The blue-chip index dropped 2,231.07 points, or 5.50 percent, ending at 38,314.86.
NASDAQ Composite: The tech-heavy index decreased by 962.82 points, marking a 5.82 percent fall, to close at 15,587.79
Standard and Poor's 500: The broad market index fell 322.44 points, a decline of 5.97 percent, closing at 5,074.08.

NEW YORK, New York - The rout in U.,S. and global stock markets continued and even heightened on Friday, as investors around the world tried to grapple with the sense of the Trump strategy to reverse decades of trade policy and throw the world into a financial upheaval.

Stocks in London, Frankfurt and Paris all tumbled nearly five percent, while the Australian dollar, a commodity currency extremely sensitive to a global recession now forecast almost universally, dived nearly five percent.

With world financial markets in turmoil, U.S. President Donald Trump was out playing golf.

Senate Minority Leader Chick Schumer blasted the president. "While we're here doing all of this, it's my understanding that Donald Trump's out at a golf course," he told told reporters as he said he and other Democrats were planning to force a vote to rescind certain tariffs.

Following are Friday's closing quotes for the major U.S. stock markets:

S&P 500: The broad market index fell 322.44 points, a decline of 5.97 percent, closing at 5,074.08.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: The blue-chip index dropped 2,231.07 points, or 5.50 percent, ending at 38,314.86.
NASDAQ Composite: The tech-heavy index decreased by 962.82 points, marking a 5.82 percent fall, to close at 15,587.79.

Global Foreign Exchange Markets React to Trade Tensions and Economic Uncertainty

The foreign exchange market experienced significant movements on Friday as investors reacted to heightened trade tensions, economic uncertainty, and remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell. The U.S. dollar strengthened against most major currencies, with risk-sensitive currencies, particularly the Australian and New Zealand dollares, seeing notable declines.

Major Currency Movements:

EUR/USD (Euro/US Dollar) – The euro weakened against the U.S. dollar, falling 0.83 percent to 1.0959, as concerns over European economic growth and monetary policy divergence weighed on sentiment.
USD/JPY (US Dollar/Japanese Yen) – The U.S. dollar appreciated 0.50 percent against the Japanese yen, last traded at at 146.75, as investors shifted towards the greenback amid global uncertainty.
USD/CAD (US Dollar/Canadian Dollar) – The U.S. dollar climbed 0.83 percent against the Canadian dollar to 1.4211, supported by softening commodity prices and broader risk aversion.
GBP/USD (British Pound/US Dollar) – The British pound saw a sharp decline of 1.59 percent, diving to 1.2890, as disappointing economic data raised concerns about the U.K.'s economic outlook.
USD/CHF (US Dollar/Swiss Franc) – The U.S. dollar strengthened 0.23 percent versus the Swiss franc, settling at 0.8609, with the Swiss currency losing ground amid lower safe-haven demand.
AUD/USD (Australian Dollar/US Dollar) – The Australian dollar suffered a significant drop of 4.67 percent, settling at 0.6032, as weak commodity prices and global risk aversion pressured the currency.
NZD/USD (New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar) – The New Zealand dollar followed a similar trajectory, falling 3.37 percent to 0.5597, reflecting concerns over slowing economic growth in the region.

World stock markets continue to reel from the abrupt change in U.S. trade policy

On Friday, global stock markets faced further significant declines, primarily driven by escalating trade tensions following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs. Major indices across Europe, Asia, and Australia experienced notable losses.

Canadian Market:

S&P/TSX Composite Index: Canada's primary stock index declined by 1,142.30 points, a drop of 4.69 percent, finishing at 23,193.47.

UK and European Markets

The FTSE 100 in London plummeted by 419.76 points, closing at 8,054.98, a decrease of 4.95 percent.
Germany's DAX dropped 1,075.67 points to end at 20,641.72, down 4.95 percent.
France's CAC 40 fell by 324.03 points, closing at 7,274.95, a decline of 4.26 percent.
The EURO STOXX 50 index decreased by 234.97 points to 4,878.31, marking a 4.60 percent drop.
The Euronext 100 Index declined by 76.97 points, closing at 1,436.07, down 5.09 percent.
Belgium's BEL 20 index dropped 201.14 points to end at 4,093.59, a decrease of 4.68 percent.

Asian and Pacific Markets

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 352.72 points, closing at 22,849.81, down 1.52 percent.
Singapore's STI Index declined by 116.37 points to 3,825.86, a drop of 2.95 percent.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 decreased by 191.90 points, ending at 7,667.80, down 2.44 percent.
The All Ordinaries index in Australia fell by 205.10 points to close at 7,847.60, a decline of 2.55 percent.
India's S&P BSE SENSEX dropped 930.67 points, closing at 75,364.69, down 1.22 percent.
Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined by 14.77 points to end at 1,504.14, a decrease of 0.97 percent.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index Gross fell by 113.29 points, closing at 12,225.28, down 0.92 percent.
South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index decreased by 21.28 points to 2,465.42, a drop of 0.86 percent.
Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index bucked the trend, rising by 18.05 points to close at 21,298.22, an increase of 0.08 percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 experienced a significant decline, dropping 955.35 points to end at 33,780.58, down 2.75 percent.

Middle East Markets

Middle East markets were mainly closed on Friday and will re-open on Sunday.

Currency Indices

The US Dollar Index increased by 0.96 points, closing at 103.03, up 0.94 percent.

The widespread market downturn Friday was again largely attributed to heightened trade tensions following President Trump's announcement of new tariffs, which led to retaliatory measures from China and increased fears of a global trade war.