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Friday Surprise. Stocks fell sharply Friday as renewed tariff fears overwhelmed markets. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.6%, for its worst day since April 10, when, not coincidentally, the Trump administration’s new global tariffs went into effect. Today’s selloff wiped out a month’s worth of gains. |
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The S&P 500 was down 2.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 879 points, or 1.9%. |
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Stocks actually opened the day in positive territory, but abruptly changed direction when, shortly before 11 a.m., President Donald Trump wrote a social media post expressing surprise about China’s recent export controls around rare earth minerals. The moves “came out of nowhere,” Trump wrote, and “I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move.” |
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The rhetoric quickly brought back the market’s tariff trauma from earlier this year. Shortly after markets closed, Trump wrote: “Starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying.” |
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Barring changes, that update will weigh on stocks at Monday’s open. Nasdaq futures were down more than 1% this evening. |
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Today’s moves had strategists reminding clients about the typically volatile performance for stocks in October. |
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“The cause was a surprise—a flare up in trade relations with China—but this time of year is an historically volatile one and with stocks priced-to-perfection coming into the month, it’s no surprise that they could be knocked down from all-time highs,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, wrote. |
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As in the past, the U.S. and China could still find ways to work toward a detente. In her story today, my colleague Reshma Kapadia quotes 22V Research’s Michael Hirson: |
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There is still a window to back down, and Trump faces significant political risks if he follows through on his threats—loss of a TikTok deal, no hope of China buying U.S. soybeans, risks to U.S. auto and aerospace supply chains from China rare earth controls…And, of course, worries about U.S. markets and inflation. |
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The last time stocks were knocked off their perch by tariff fears, the S&P 500 fell 19% before rebounding to repeated highs in recent months. Time will tell if this time is different. |
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Watch our TV show on Fox Business Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. ET. This week, Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk on the re-escalation of trade tensions with China. Plus, a wild week for AMD. |
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| - | Last | Chg% |
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↓ Dow Jones Industrial Average | +45,479.60 | -1.90% | ↓ S&P 500 Index | +6,552.51 | -2.71% | ↓ NASDAQ Composite Index | +22,204.43 | -3.56% |
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10/10/2025, 8:00:31 PM ET |
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The Hot Stock: PepsiCo +3.7%
The Biggest Loser: Synopsys -9.4% |
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Best Sector: Consumer Staples +0.1%
Worst Sector: Technology -4.1% |
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