A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell on April 8, 2025.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
Stocks fell Tuesday afternoon, losing their gains from earlier in the day, as President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline neared.
The S&P 500 declined 2.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 611 points, or 1.6%. The major averages were well off their session highs, when 30-stock Dow had jumped nearly 3.9%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had rallied more than 4% each.
The Dow on Tuesday
Earlier, stocks rose in a relief rally on hopes that the U.S. could negotiate arrangements that would lower tariffs on major trading partners.
Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday that he had a “great call” with the acting president of South Korea, and that China “also wants to make a deal badly.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also told CNBC on Tuesday that around 70 countries had approached the U.S. for tariff negotiations. “If they come to the table with solid proposals, I think we can end up with some good deals,” Bessent said. “And part of the calculus of that may be that some part of the tariffs stay on.”
Despite talk of deals, however, none appear close to being hatched before Trump’s deadline for just after midnight when the higher reciprocal tariff rates kick in on top of the 10% baseline duty already implemented on Saturday. The White House confirmed a cumulative 104% tariff rate will be implemented on Chinese goods overnight.
Tuesday marks a fourth session of violent market volatility since the rollout of Trump’s tariffs. On Monday, U.S. markets saw their highest trading volume in at least 18 years, at roughly 29 billion shares. The 30-stock Dow saw an intraday swing of 2,595 points. The S&P 500 also briefly entered bear market territory at the lows of Monday’s session, down more than 20% from its record.
Despite Tuesday’s gains on growing optimism for tariff negotiations, investors will need to see more stability in trade policy for the bounce to have legs, according to Robert Ruggirello, chief investment officer at Brave Eagle Wealth Management.
“There has to be some staying power, something [where] corporations can make longer-term capital allocation decisions. They have to have confidence in a consistent policy,” said Ruggirello.
Apple shares fell 4.5% after having risen more than 4% earlier Tuesday. The iPhone maker, which is heavily exposed to China, has lost around 22% over the last four trading sessions and is on pacing for its worst four-day stretch since 2008.
The CBOE Volatility Index – known as Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge – spiked to about 60 on Monday, an extreme level that could signal a technical bounce was due. On Tuesday, it flickered around 50.
