Saul Loeb | Via Reuters
Technology stocks plummeted Thursday for their worst session since the Covid pandemic after President Donald Trump’s new tariff policies sparked widespread market panic.
Apple led the declines among the so-called “Magnificent Seven” group, dropping more than 9% for its worst drop since 2020. The iPhone maker makes its devices in China and other Asian countries. Suppliers such as Qorvo and Skyworks Solutions plunged about 16% and 12%, respectively.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed about 6% for its worst session in more than five years. The index is down more than 14% year to date.
Other megacaps also felt the pressure. Meta Platforms and Amazon fell about 9% each, while Nvidia dropped nearly 8%. Nvidia builds its new chips in Taiwan and relies on Mexico for assembling its artificial intelligence systems. Tesla slumped more than 5%, while Microsoft and Alphabet both fell about 2% and 4%, respectively.
Semiconductor stocks also felt the pain, with Marvell Technology, Broadcom and Lam Research falling at least 10% each. Micron Technology sank more than 16%, while Advanced Micro Devices
declined more about 9%. Personal computer makers Dell and HP tanked 19% and about 15%, respectively. Dell registered its worst session in since 2018.
The drop in technology stocks came amid a broader market selloff spurred by fears of a global trade war after Trump unveiled a blanket 10% tariff on all imported goods and a range of higher duties targeting specific countries after the bell Wednesday. He said the new tariffs would be a “declaration of economic independence” for the U.S.
Companies and countries worldwide have already begun responding to the wide-sweeping policy, which included a 34% tariff on China stacked on a previous 20% tax, a 46% duty on Vietnam and a 20% levy on imports from the European Union.
China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. to “immediately cancel” the unilateral tariff measures and said it would take “resolute counter-measures.”
Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/03/tech-stocks-sink-after-trump-tariff-rollout-apple-leads-drop.html
