US stocks plunge to ‘worst day of 2025’ as Donald Trump’s trade war bites | World | News

US stocks plunged to what is believed to be the worst day of 2025, as concessions made by the Trump administration on tariffs appear to have failed to calm the markets. Donald Trump’s decision to slap steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China in recent days has rocked the US market.

On Thursday, however, Mr Trump announced that most goods imported from Mexico and some products coming in from Canada would be exempt from his controversial regime of tariffs, at least for the next four weeks. This came just days after the 25% charges were imposed.

But the news didn’t seem to give the US stocks a boost, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 427.51 points lower after already falling more than 600 points at session lows.

The S&P 500 also plunged 1.7% to 5,738.52.

And the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.61%, to 18.069.26, closing in what is called correction territory – when an index falls by 10% from a recent high.

NewsWire called this reaction on the market the “worst day of 2025”. And the situation may worsen, with CNBC reporting that the Nasdaq, Dow and S&P 500 are on track for their worst week since last September.

Mr Trump’s one-month extension on the tariffs granted to some of Canada and Mexico’s goods didn’t spark the same positive reaction in investors that was seen on Wednesday, when the White House prompted a stocks recovery by announcing a four-week delay on tariffs on car makers selling vehicles that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The extensions don’t appear to be a U-turn on the tariff policies, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday afternoon during an event in New York: “To the extent that another country’s practices harm our own economy and people, the United States will respond. This is the America-first trade policy.”

Recipriocal tariffs, in which the US applies import taxes on countries that tariff American exports, are still be expected to be implemented on April 2 against Canada and Mexico.

Mr Trump is a big believer in tariffs and they are a crucial part of his economic plan, believing they will boost the US economy and create jobs.