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The Nasdaq Composite Index was on course to fall into a Bear Market on Friday, as the global stock sell-off triggered by tariffs intensified.
The Nasdaq index was down by almost 4% Friday morning. It is now more than 20 percent off its all-time high from December. The tech-heavy index was sliding alongside the other major large-cap indexes, with the S&P 500 off about 4% and the Dow down about 3.5%.
For a bearish market to be confirmed, the Nasdaq must close below 16,139.11. The index was trading at 15876, after recovering from its session low below 15600.
The Nasdaq experienced its worst day in March 2020 on Thursday after President Donald Trump unveiled a range of steep tariffs, which economists warn could push the U.S. economic system into a depression while fueling inflation.
The selling of US goods continued on Friday, after China responded with its own tariff, matching Trump’s rate on Chinese products. The move raised fears that Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods could be the start of a global war that leads to even higher tariffs.
The majority (more than 3,000) of the stocks in the Nasdaq traded in red on Friday. However, mega-cap technology stocks weighed most heavily on this index. Apple (AAPL), which has seen its shares fall nearly 10% yesterday, is down more than 4% today. It was their worst day since march 2020.
Nvidia, Broadcom and Tesla all saw their shares fall more than 7%.
