The U.S. stock market experienced a massive $4 trillion decline on Monday, March 10, as investor fears over economic instability, escalating trade tensions, and the potential for a recession triggered a widespread selloff.
Wall Street’s downturn began early, with all three major indexes plunging. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 890 points, marking its worst trading day of the year. The S&P 500 declined by 2.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite saw an even steeper 4% fall, erasing all gains made since the last U.S. presidential election.
The S&P 500 has now fallen 8% from its February 19 all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite has officially entered correction territory after dropping more than 10% from its December peak.
The selloff intensified following an interview with former President Donald Trump on Fox News, where he declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.
“I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big,” Trump stated during Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
Tech stocks bore the brunt of the market rout, with major companies such as Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Tesla (TSLA) suffering significant declines. “Trump’s remarks about a potential recession unnerved investors who were already on edge,” said Anthony Saglimbene, Chief Market Strategist at Ameriprise.
Despite growing market fears, the White House defended Trump’s economic approach. “Since President Trump was elected, industry leaders have responded to his America First economic agenda with trillions in investment commitments that will create thousands of new jobs,” stated White House spokesman Kush Desai. He emphasized that Trump had delivered “historic job, wage, and investment growth” during his first term and aimed to do so again.
Tesla, once a market darling, has tumbled nearly 45% this year, weighed down by protests over CEO Elon Musk’s ties to the Trump administration and slowing sales in Europe. Nvidia shares fell 5%, while artificial intelligence company Palantir (PLTR) dropped 10%.
Bitcoin was also caught in the selloff, plunging to $78,000—its lowest level since November—amid a broader retreat from riskier assets.
Investor unease has been exacerbated by uncertainty surrounding Trump’s trade policies. The former president has threatened new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, announced plans to double tariffs on all Chinese imports from 10% to 20%, and set a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports beginning March 12. Additionally, Trump warned of a 250% tariff on Canadian dairy products and “tremendously high” duties on Canadian lumber.
In response to the turmoil, investors flocked to government bonds, pushing the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury down to 4.225%. This flight to safety signals deep concerns about economic stability. Attention now turns to upcoming inflation data, expected on Wednesday and Thursday, which could provide further insight into the economy’s direction.
