What to watch as US stock markets fall

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After weeks of tariff talks, President Donald Trump this week announced the tariff percentage he would assign to each trading partner. China, one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners, responded by matching Trump’s tariff rate on the country, imposing a 34% tariff on the United States. News of China’s move sent the U.S. stock market falling. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke today about the country’s economic outlook, juxtaposing March’s strong labor market with dimming consumer confidence and the potential effect of tariff increases on spending.

“While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected. The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth. The size and duration of these effects remain uncertain,” Powell said.

At press time, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both down more than 5%. A market correction is typically a decline of at least 10% but less than 20%; a bear market is a decline of 20% or more, and a stock market crash happens at 20% or more in a short time. For example, Black Monday in 1987 saw a Dow Jones plunge of nearly 22% in one day.

Here are some additional resources around the economy and investing right now:

  • The Wall Street Journal has solid reporting on what is happening with the markets today.
  • Investopedia interviewed Warren Buffet on what to do when the stock market crashes.
  • Barron’s has a number of articles on what’s happening with the market and what to do next.
  • MarketWatch provides perspective on why the market is changing and what other investors are doing in response.
  • The massive and rapid shifts in policy is naturally triggering fear and stress, but there are mindset changes you can make in order to “prevail over this chaos” and make smart investment decisions, Jason Zweig writes for the Wall Street Journal.

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