Apple's shares staring at worst drop in 5 years
What's the story
Technology stocks took a major hit after US President Donald Trump announced global tariffs. Apple, a key player in the sector, saw its shares dive more than 8%, the steepest since 2020. The company's devices are mainly produced in China and other Asian countries. The decline was part of a wider market selloff that occurred after Trump announced a blanket 10% tariff on all imported goods and higher duties on select countries.
Impact
What about Meta, Amazon?
Other major tech companies also felt the brunt of Trump's tariffs. Meta Platforms and Amazon saw their shares plummet by over 7% each, while NVIDIA and Tesla witnessed a decline of over 5%. Both NVIDIA and Tesla heavily rely on Asia for manufacturing. Microsoft and Alphabet saw a decline of about 2%.
Others
Semiconductor and software stocks also affected
The semiconductor sector wasn't spared either. Shares of companies like Marvell Technology, Arm Holdings, and Micron Technology fell by over 8% each. Broadcom and Lam Research dropped 6%, while Advanced Micro Devices declined over 4%. Software stocks ServiceNow and Fortinet also took a hit, with each seeing their shares fall by over 5%.
International reactions
Global response to Trump's tariff announcement
In the wake of Trump's announcement, countries and companies across the globe have started reacting. China has urged the US to "immediately cancel" these unilateral tariff measures and threatened "resolute counter-measures." The new tariffs come after a tough quarter for the tech-heavy NASDAQ index, which witnessed its worst period since 2022. The NASDAQ Composite fell nearly 5% on Thursday, taking its year-to-date loss to 13%.
Market response
Dollar plunges, oil prices fall
The Dollar and equity markets took a hit after Trump's tariff announcement, with the Dollar witnessing its biggest intraday plunge in a decade. Oil prices fell by almost 4.5% while gold hit a new peak of $3,167.84 an ounce.