▶ Trump’s Recession Acknowledgment Drives Nasdaq Down 4%, Largest Drop in 2.5 Years
▶ Tesla Halved from Its Peak
Growing fears that the U.S. economy could slip into a recession due to the economic policies of Donald Trump’s second administration led to a sharp plunge in all three major New York stock indices on the 10th, reviving the terror of a “Black Friday.”
On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,911.71, down 890.01 points (-2.08%) from the previous trading day. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index fell 155.64 points (-2.70%) to 5,614.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite took the hardest hit, plummeting 727.90 points (-4.00%) to 17,468.33.
The Nasdaq recorded its largest single-day drop in two and a half years since September 13, 2022 (-5.16%), when inflation shock peaked. During the afternoon session, the Nasdaq briefly saw declines approaching 5%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dropped 8.7% from its high last month, nearing correction territory (a decline of 10% from its peak).
The stock market crash was triggered by President Trump’s comments on the previous day regarding the possibility of a recession. His nonchalant stance on the market’s recession concerns unnerved investors. In an interview with Fox News on the 9th, when asked if he expected a recession this year, Trump did not deny the possibility, stating, “There’s a transition period,” and adding, “It’s because what we’re doing is a very big deal.”
Shelby McFaddin, an analyst at Motley Fool Asset Management, commented, “This is the first instance where the Trump administration has calmly acknowledged that their policy goals could cause pain.” Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird Private Wealth Management, noted, “The Trump administration seems more accepting of falling stock prices and appears willing to tolerate a recession if it means achieving larger goals.”
As the Trump administration sticks to unexpectedly aggressive tariff policies, major Wall Street banks are raising their estimates of the likelihood of a U.S. recession while downgrading growth forecasts for the year.
The day’s market plunge was led by large-cap tech stocks (Big Tech). Tesla saw a staggering 15.43% drop, closing at $222.15—a 54% decline from its all-time high of $479.86 on December 17 last year. Other “Magnificent 7 (M7)” stocks, which had driven the bull market over the past two years, also saw significant declines: Apple (-4.85%), Nvidia (-5.07%), Meta (-4.42%), Microsoft (-3.34%), and Alphabet (-4.49%). Collectively, the M7’s market capitalization evaporated by more than $774 billion in a single day.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX), often called the “fear gauge,” rose 4.49 points from the previous day to 27.86—the highest level in seven months since August last year, when recession fears surfaced due to employment shocks.