Bears strengthen grip on US market: S&P 500 down 6%, Dow plunges 2,162 points, Nasdaq slumps 6.5%

Wall Street’s brief celebration came to a halt on April 10, as US stocks gave up half of the gains from the prior day’s historic rally. The retreat followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on select tariffs — an olive branch that did little to ease investor jitters. Despite the reprieve, concerns flared as Trump kept a sharply higher tariff rate aimed squarely at China, raising fears of an economic slowdown.

The S&P 500 dropped 6%, the Nasdaq Composite slid 6.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 2,162 points, or 5.3% on a intraday basis.

Heavyweights Apple and Tesla led the decline, falling more than 7% and 11%, respectively. Nvidia shed over 8%, while Meta Platforms retreated more than 7%.

Investor anxiety surged, with Wall Street’s 'fear gauge' — the CBOE Volatility Index — spiking 20 points to 53.67.

The selloff intensified after the White House confirmed to CNBC that the cumulative tariff rate on Chinese imports would total 145%. That includes a new 125% duty layered on top of a 20% tariff previously imposed in response to the fentanyl crisis.

Currency markets reflected the panic. The dollar index fell 1.8% as traders rushed to the safe-haven yen, pushing the dollar down to 144.34 yen. The euro rallied over 2% to 1.12 against the greenback.

Investors and traders had anticipated that the tariffs would boost the dollar, but instead the US currency has fallen more than 2% since President Trump unveiled his full trade policy last week, CNBC reported.

Adding to the surprise, US consumer prices fell unexpectedly in March — the first monthly decline in nearly five years. The consumer price index slipped 0.1% after a 0.2% rise in February, driven by cheaper gasoline and used vehicles, according to the Labor Department.