Wall Street opened Friday with another wave of sharp losses, as President Trump’s newly announced tariffs continued to shake investor confidence even in the face of unexpectedly strong job growth for March.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m. Eastern, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped more than 1,200 points, continuing a downward spiral that began the previous day when markets experienced their worst single-day trading loss in five years. The S&P 500 was down 3.6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite had fallen 3.5 percent, signaling widespread unease across sectors.
The steep declines followed Trump’s announcement of up to $600 billion in new import taxes, a move that stunned Wall Street due to both its size and aggressive scope. Investors, already bracing for a global economic slowdown, reacted swiftly by pulling back, triggering a broad sell-off across major indices.
Despite the market turmoil, the White House continued to defend the strategy. Officials maintained that the short-term pain would lead to long-term gains by rebalancing trade relationships and strengthening domestic production. Vice President JD Vance told Newsmax on Thursday that the disruption was part of a necessary adjustment.
“We’re feeling good. Look, I frankly thought, in some ways, it could be worse on the markets, because this is a big transition,” Vance said. “For 40 years, American economic policy has rewarded offshoring. We’ve taxed our workers and weakened our supply chains. That’s over.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a surprisingly strong March jobs report on Friday morning, showing the U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs and held steady at an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent. Economists had projected a gain of just 135,000 jobs, making the labor report one of the few pieces of good news in an otherwise volatile week.
Still, the positive employment numbers did little to calm concerns. Analysts pointed out that the ripple effects of Trump’s tariffs especially on prices and consumer confidence are just beginning to hit. Households are reportedly growing more anxious about both their spending power and job security as uncertainty mounts.
James Knightley, chief international economist at AIG, noted in a Friday analysis that public sentiment is turning sharply negative. “The potential for outright fall in jobs is rising. Households are worried about the hit to spending power from tariffs,” he wrote. “Government austerity is becoming more visible, and with markets sliding, it’s clear that sentiment is souring.”
As financial markets continue to react to the administration’s trade strategy, the debate intensifies over whether these moves will boost American industry or trigger deeper economic strain. For now, Wall Street is showing signs of significant discomfort, and confidence in the near-term outlook is starting to waver.