Tech stocks and cryptocurrency prices plummet due to Trump's trade war.
So much victory.
During one of his pre-election speeches, Donald Trump declared that "we are going to win so much that you might even get tired of winning." However, a few months later, the situation seems far from that promised victory. After two disastrous days for the stock and cryptocurrency markets, where the S&P 500 fell more than 10 percent between Thursday and Friday, many investors were hoping for a breather on Monday. However, major indices plummeted again in pre-market trading, with the S&P 500 falling below 5,000 for the first time since April 2024.
Stocks of major tech companies are underperforming, with Apple’s share price dropping to $180 in pre-market trading. Nvidia stood at $89.4 per share, and Tesla was at $222 per share. The latter, which reached a record price of $489 per share in December 2024, has seen a 55 percent drop in its value. Cryptocurrencies are not faring any better; Bitcoin is priced at $76,130 and Ethereum at $1,486 at the time of writing. It is important to remember that just four months ago, Bitcoin was over $109,000 and Ethereum was above $4,100.
The underlying problem is clear: the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on nearly all of its trading partners have been more severe than the market expected, dragging the world toward a possible and devastating trade war. For example, projections suggest that Apple could raise the prices of the iPhone by up to 43%, making the cheapest model of the iPhone 16 increase from $799 to $1,142.
Although it is impossible to predict with certainty what will happen due to potential agreements between the United States and its trading partners, the current uncertainty is a factor that is troubling the markets. Furthermore, the discontent is not limited to Wall Street. At a protest on Saturday in Washington, D.C., and other cities in the U.S., thousands of people gathered to protest some of the decisions made by the Trump administration to date.