On October 10 (local time), the major indices on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for a large-scale tariff hike against China in response to China's export controls on rare earth elements.
On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 45,479.60, down 878.82 points (-1.90%) from the previous session.
The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index fell by 182.60 points (-2.71%) to close at 6,552.51, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 820.20 points (-3.56%) to end at 22,204.43.
The S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Index both recorded their largest single-day declines in six months, since April 10, following the Trump administration's announcement of its tariff policy.
President Trump strongly criticized China's rare earth export control measures on the social media platform Truth Social, stating, "I was scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea in two weeks, but now it seems there is no reason to do so."
He added, "One of the policies we are currently considering is a large-scale tariff increase on Chinese products entering the United States. Likewise, many other countermeasures are also being seriously considered." Ultimately, President Trump announced in November that the U.S. would impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports and implement controls on the export of key software to China.
Following President Trump's hardline remarks, investor sentiment quickly deteriorated. As investors rushed to take profits, particularly in large-cap technology stocks that had recently surged, the stock market plunged.
Nvidia tumbled 4.95% on the day, while other major big tech stocks such as Tesla (-5.06%), Amazon (-4.99%), Apple (-3.44%), and Meta (-3.83%) also saw significant declines.
Semiconductor companies such as AMD (-7.8%) and Broadcom (-5.91%) were also unable to avoid falling share prices.
Meanwhile, international oil prices also plunged on this day. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for November delivery settled at $58.90 per barrel, down 4.24% from the previous session. This marks the lowest level in five months since May.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
