April 7 (UPI) — U.S. markets broadly went down Monday, but not as significantly as during the past two trading sessions, as President Donald Trump publicly held firm to the concept that his levies will lead to economic prosperity.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average declined 349.26 points, or 0.91%, to close at 37,965.60. The 30 stocks had fallen more than 1,700 points during a low Monday.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 lost 0.23% lost to end at 5,062.25 and was down 4.7% at the lows of the session. It briefly entered bear market territory. Briefly it was in a bear market, down 20%, but tended nearly18% from its recent high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went slightly up 0.10% to settle at 15,603.26. The index went into a bear market on Friday.
On Friday, the DJIA declined 2,2331.07, or 5.5%, to 38,314.86, the worst setback since the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the lowest for the average since May 30, 2024. The average was last under 40,000 on Aug. 13.
On Thursday, DJIA dropped 1,679. It hit 45,014 on Dec 4, so it is 14.9% down since then.
On Friday, the S&P had a worse decline, 5.97%, or 322.44, which also was its biggest decline since the pandemic. The index is now at 5,074.08 and off 17% from 6,144.15 on Feb. 19. Only 14 companies were up Friday.
Nasdaq had slumped 5.82%, or 962.82 points, to fall to 15,587.79. The index is down 22% and is in a bear market for the first time since 2022.
A correction is 10%.
American stocks opened Monday in a downturn that pointed toward a bear market but then surged upward on rumors that Trump may put a lengthy pause on the tariffs levied against the rest of the world Wednesday but fell again when the rumor was said to be false.
The DJIA was down 762.16 points, or 1.99%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.55% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.42% as of noon.
It was only less than seven weeks ago, on Feb. 19, that the S&P hit its record high, and should the market close today in bear market territory, it would be the second-fastest peak-to-bear market shift in history, behind the fastest that occurred during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump posted to social media Monday that as China has issued 34% retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., in addition to “their already record setting tariffs, non-monetary tariffs, illegal subsidization of companies, and massive long term currency manipulation” despite his “warning that any country that retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term tariff abuse of our nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher tariffs.”
He continued that “if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by” Tuesday, “the United States will impose additional tariffs on China of 50%” effective Wednesday, and that “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated.”
That post to Trump’s Truth Social account was at approximately 11:14 a.m., and by 11:30 a.m. the Dow had dropped back to 37, 277. 66.
