US tech, retail stocks lead rout after Trump's tariff blow

Megacap U.S. tech companies including Apple led a global market meltdown.

Megacap U.S. tech companies including Apple and retail giants Walmart and Nike led a global market meltdown as President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs heightened fears of a spike in costs across a wide swath of industries.

The tariffs, which threaten to destabilise the world trade order and unsettle businesses, mark a sharp reversal from just a few months ago when hopes of business-friendly policies under the Trump administration pushed U.S. stocks to record highs.

Trump said he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on dozens of other countries, pushing U.S. tariffs to the highest in more than a century, according to Fitch Ratings.

Analysts and economists warned that hefty tariffs on imports from Asian manufacturing hubs and potential retaliatory measures could rattle global supply chains and dent corporate profit margins.

"These actions could potentially shave 1 to 1.5 percentage points from (U.S.) growth this year – meaningfully raising recession risks," Deutsche Bank Senior US Economist Brett Ryan said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.72% and the benchmark S&P 500 lost 3.21%.

Apple's shares fell 8%. More than 90% of its manufacturing is based in China, one of the hardest hit countries by the tariffs, according to an estimate from Citi.