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The Dow got crushed on Monday, dropping nearly 1,000 points as traders scrambled through a selloff that’s dragging the index toward the worst April since 1932, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The S&P 500’s performance under Donald Trump’s presidency is now the worst showing for any president this far into office, based on Bespoke Investment Group’s data going back to 1928.
The damage is tied to a mix of policy chaos, trade tension, and collapsing investor confidence. With Trump back in the White House and already butting heads with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Wall Street isn’t waiting to see how bad it gets.
There are real fears that Trump might fire Powell, which is only adding fuel to a market that’s already overheating from confusion.
Investors are seeing corporate earnings start to drop, with many companies warning that tariffs are slicing into future profits. The ongoing negotiations on trade are dragging, and most people in the market aren’t betting on quick results.
Investors ditch traditional safe zones as market panic deepens
The usual safety zones are gone. Government bonds are taking a hit. The U.S. dollar is falling too. Traders are cornered with nowhere to escape. Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments, said his firm already scaled back its U.S. equity exposure weeks ago.
“It’s impossible to commit capital to an economy that is unstable and unknowable because of policy structure,” Scott said. “It’s the hallmark of the ‘no confidence’ trade.”
Right after Trump won the last election, stock prices flew on the hope of tax cuts and deregulation. Investors thought the boost to business would lift everything. But instead of building on that, the administration turned to tariffs. That change flipped the mood.
On April 2, Trump pushed out a new batch of tariffs, and markets reacted instantly. The Dow began to sink, and it hasn’t found its feet since.
Even after Trump backtracked on some tariff timelines, the market didn’t buy it. The hit was already made. Bond markets are throwing their own red flags. Usually, during selloffs, U.S. Treasurys rise in price because investors rush into them. That’s not happening.
In April alone, the 10-year Treasury yield moved up 0.16 percentage points. That means bond prices are dropping too. People are unloading what’s supposed to be the safest bet in town.