Wall Street retreat extends into second day after China retaliates against Trump tariffs
U.S. companies were getting hammered again in the stock market Friday after China matched President Donald Trump’s tariffs in what is a rapidly escalating trade war.
Few sectors were spared in trading Friday, a day after U.S. companies lost $2 trillion in value and finished with their biggest one-day drop since COVID-19 flattened the global economy five years ago.
The Commerce Ministry in Beijing said it would respond to the 34% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from China by imposing a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10.
Companies who sell their goods to China were hit hard on Friday, including those in aerospace, agriculture and heavy equipment.
Some of Thursday’s biggest losers — banks, airlines and technology companies — sank again on Friday. Others, such as retailers, clothing and restaurants, were down but not nearly as bad as Thursday. Some, like Nike, even posted small gains on Friday.
Tariffs are effectively a business tax that gets passed on to consumers. If prices for goods and services rise, consumers could tighten their budgets and pull back on spending for non-essential goods and services.
Consumer spending makes up about 70% of economic activity in the U.S. A significant decline in demand would cause businesses to produce fewer goods, limiting growth and potentially causing a recession.
JPMorgan raised its forecast for the risk of a recession to 60% on Thursday, up from a previous 40%.
The three major U.S. stock indexes were down between 3.5% and 4.5% in morning trading.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the market’s worst performing sectors and companies on Friday.
Agriculture and heavy equipment
Some of the U.S.’s biggest exports to China are heavy machinery and oilseeds and grains.
Deere & Co., down 2.8% Friday after losing 5% on Thursday.
Archer-Daniels-Midland, down 7.1% Friday after losing 0.8% on Thursday.
Caterpillar, down 5.2% Friday after losing 8.6% on Thursday.
Aerospace and defense
Aerospace companies also heavily export their products to China. As part of its retaliation Friday, China imposed more export controls on rare earths, which includes materials used in high-tech products and aerospace manufacturing and the defense sector.
Boeing, down 8% Friday after losing 10.5% on Thursday.
General Dynamics, down 3.4% Friday after losing 2.3% on Thursday.
Airlines
Airlines had been projecting a strong year for profits. However, if Americans are faced with higher prices for essentials, economists say that could put a crimp in their travel budgets.
United Airlines, down 10.4% on Friday after losing 15.6% on Thursday.
American Airlines, down 8.3% on Thursday after losing 10.3% on Thursday.
Delta Air Lines, down 7.3% on Friday after losing 10.7% on Thursday.
Technology
Companies that make and sell computers, smartphones and other technology source many of their parts from abroad. Some manufacture their entire products overseas, meaning they will have to pay a tariff when those products are shipped back for sale to consumers.
Apple, down 3.2% on Friday after losing 9.3% on Thursday.
HP, down 4.3% on Friday after losing 14.7% on Thursday.
Dell, down 4.9% on Friday after losing 19% on Thursday.
Nvidia, down 5.3% on Friday after losing 7.8% on Thursday.
Banks
If the economy slips into a recession, households and businesses will be less likely to borrow money as demand for products and services decline.
Wells Fargo, down 6% on Friday after losing 9.1% on Thursday.
Bank of America, down 6.7% on Friday after losing 11.1% on Thursday.
JPMorgan Chase, down 6.2% on Friday after losing 7% on Thursday.
Automakers
Somewhat surprisingly, automakers didn’t get hit as hard most other sectors did on Thursday. That could be because most of Ford, GM and Stellantis’ steel and aluminum — which Trump previously announced tariffs on — already comes from the United States, reducing the direct impact the companies would feel from higher duties.
General Motors, down 3.2% on Friday after losing 4.3% on Thursday.
Ford, up 0.5% on Friday after losing 6% on Thursday.
Tesla, down 7.7% on Friday after losing 5.5% on Thursday.
Stellantis, down 3.8% on Friday after losing 9.4% on Thursday.