Analyst names Trump's decisions that led to stock market plunge
Market anxiety in the US stock market (Getty Images)
The unpredictable tariff policy of US President Donald Trump's administration has led to a decline in key US stock market indexes, this opinion was expressed by Oleksandr Martynenko, head of the corporate analysis department at ICU Group, in a column for RBC-Ukraine.
"Last week (March 3-9 – ed.), a new series of controversial decisions by the US administration in trade policy intensified its destructive impact on investor sentiment and triggered another wave of sell-offs across most segments of financial markets," he said.
Stock market decline
Following Trump's inconsistent decisions on import tariffs for China, Canada, and Mexico, US stock indexes recorded their worst weekly drop since September 2024, the expert added. For example, the S&P 500 index fell by 3.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 declined by 3.3%.
At the same time, the value of US Treasury bonds also decreased over the week, leading to higher yields: up 9 basis points to 4.30% for 10-year bonds and up 1 basis point to 4.00% for 2-year bonds.
"According to Bloomberg estimates, the total weekly decline in the value of funds investing in US stocks, as well as Treasury and corporate bonds, was around 2% — the worst performance since October 2023," said Oleksandr Martynenko.
According to him, the US tariff policy has also affected commodity markets, increasing demand for gold and other precious metals, which were among the top-performing assets in the raw materials market last week.
Meanwhile, signals of a further slowdown in the US economy continue to emerge. As an example, the expert cited the labor market situation: "US employment data for February showed that the number of new jobs was lower than expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.1% from 4.0% in January."
Growing market anxiety
Oleksandr Martynenko emphasized that market nervousness continues to rise as the latest US tariff hikes on Chinese goods remain in effect, and tensions between the two countries escalate.
"The unpredictability of US foreign policy is increasingly worsening sentiment not only among investors but also within the business community. Ultimately, this could harm the world’s leading economies even more than the tariff increases themselves," he said.
On March 4, Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect, along with a doubling of tariffs on Chinese products to 20%.
In response, Canada announced a 25% tariff on $30 billion worth of US imports, stating that these measures would remain in place until the US lifts its tariffs against Canada. Meanwhile, China declared that starting March 10, it would impose additional tariffs of 10-15% on certain US imports and vowed to firmly resist US economic pressure.
On March 6, Trump decided to postpone additional tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods covered under the USMCA free trade agreement until April 2. The decision came after consultations with major US automakers, including Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
On March 9, Trump stated that in early April, tariffs on Mexico and Canada could not only be reinstated but even increased. Commenting on stock market fluctuations, he said that investors should not focus too much on short-term index changes. According to him, the priority is not immediate market swings but building a strong long-term economy.
According to Bloomberg, from March 4 to March 11, the S&P 500 index fell by 3.4% to $5,582, while the Nasdaq 100 declined by 4.7% to $19,404.
