After 50 days in the White House, Trump’s team loudly announced “significant achievements”, but the situation in the stock markets testifies about the opposite. More than 209 billion dollars of natural resources losses – this is even more than all the US aid to Ukraine. And this money was primarily lost by those who openly supported the 47th President.
Collapse of confidence: How Trump’s policies and Musk’s reputational losses rocked US markets
Tesla is falling, Elon Musk is silently paying for the “revival of American greatness”, and Trump promises to buy Tesla, thus demonstrating “support” for his favorite. “Supported” for 148 billion. Jeff Bezos lost 29 billion dollars, Sergey Brin – 22, Zuckerberg and Arno – 5 each. A big bet on Trump is a big loss.
And at this time, Warren Buffett calmly, without loud words, invests in traditional technologies. He’s not looking for emotional statements – he’s looking for opportunities. And at the moment he is winning.
Dow and S&P 500 yesterday suffered worst day this year, and the Nasdaq posted its biggest drop since 2022. When politics is war, markets are the battlefield. And yesterday the American economy received a serious blow. President Trump is back in the spotlight. His announcement of new tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico pond the detonator that blew up the stock market. In this scenario, where the US launches an economic “counterattack” against its partners, every word of the president is a signal for investors to flee.
His statements about a possible “transitional period”, and in fact – about the risk of recession, steel the last nail in the coffin of the market. After such a comment, someone started buying “stocks” for the recession, and someone just ran away.
Markets has a fever. The technology sector was the most affected. fell shares of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. Nvidia lost 5%, Palantir, one of the AI flagships, lost 10%. All those who showed growth yesterday are in the red zone today. Experts at Bolvin Wealth Management commenting it’s simple: what goes up quickly goes down just as quickly. The VIX – Wall Street’s fear index – is at a high this year.
And if the fall is a war, then Tesla was on the front lines. Minus 15.4%. In one day. All the profits that Elon Musk collected since November are gone. And this is not just a fall, but a strategic defeat. Tesla is falling not only in the market. The reason for that is Elon Musk. His active participation in the Trump administration caused a wave of indignation, which was compounded by a decline in sales of electric cars in Europe. Reputational losses turned into financial ones. Can Tesla hang on when reputation hits the wallet harder than any economic projections?
The VIX index shows the highest level of investor fear this year. Markets are not just numbers, they are about trust. And today, confidence is falling faster than indices.
And if anyone thought that Bitcoin was an armor that would protect against market shocks, now the moment of truth has come. Bitcoin fell to $78,000, its lowest level since November. Investors run away from risks. And even cryptocurrency has become the very “cargo” that is the first to be thrown overboard.
What’s next – recession or hope?
Trump’s words about the “transition period” sound as a retreat tactic. And for the market, this is a signal for a general departure. Every investor understands: if the president himself does not rule out a recession, then this is not just a mistake. This is a strategic plan where only those who have prepared will win.
The market is a battle arena, where the winner is the one who makes decisions faster. Today, this arena showed that uncertainty kills. And even those who thought themselves strong were hit. Now the big question is who will survive on this financial front?
Dow index closed down down 890 points, or 2.08%, retreating from a loss of more than 1,100 points at one point. The broad S&P 500 index fell down by 2.7%, while the technology index Nasdaq Composite – by 4%.
Experts say: the market is starting to lose faith in Trump’s economic strategy. The tariff policy of the 47th president is chaos without a map. Experts say: the administration does not have a clear vision. Uncertainty hurts more than tariffs themselves. Because the market is not afraid of customs. The market is afraid of the unknown.
The situation will drag on, perhaps for several blocks. And when it comes to agreements, the question will arise: why were there all these previous steps?
The US economy is beginning to creak: the number of layoffs is increasing, hiring is slowing down, and consumer confidence is falling. Inflation, on the contrary, is growing. And the market feels it. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 4.225%. It’s not just numbers – it’s a signal. Investors are looking for a safe haven. Because when the market does not understand where to move, it looks for a place to hide.
Impact on European markets
When America sneezes, the world catches a cold. The fall of the American economy is already forced European markets shudder. London’s FTSE 100 lost 4.1%. French CAC – minus 2.4%. German DAX – minus 5.7%. These are signals that Europe is preparing for a difficult period: exports will fall, production will slow down, investors are counting losses.
But the situation in Asia is even worse. Japanese Nikkei lost 12% is the worst collapse since 1987. In the markets of South Korea minus 9%, Taiwan – minus 8.4%. And it’s not just about shares – it’s about people, work, stability. If America starts saving, Asia will lose orders and factories will lose jobs. The world market is a chain. And if America breaks this circle, the echo is heard even on other continents.
Emerging markets, too felt negative impact due to the escalation of trade tensions and the strengthening of the US dollar. Investors fear that US inflationary policies, including tariffs and tax cuts, will force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high for longer than expected. This can lead to capital outflows from emerging markets and devaluation of their currencies, making it difficult to service external debt and finance investment projects.
The strengthening of the US dollar against the background of increasing uncertainty leads to the devaluation of the currencies of other countries. This makes it more difficult for emerging market countries to service external debt and raises the cost of imports, which can lead to inflationary pressures. In addition, exchange rate fluctuations create additional risks for international companies and investors, which can restrain investment activity.
…Currently, investors are waiting for monthly inflation data to understand: is stability still holding? If not, this is the beginning of a major recession, not just two quarters of declining GDP. This is a significant and long-term decline in the economy. This is what the National Bureau of Economic Research says.
Experts comment: how long investors’ caution will last depends on how quickly the market will get rid of fears. Global trade risks, threat of recession are what keep the market in tension. And the longer these threats hang in the air, the longer investors will stand on the sidelines, waiting and counting losses.
In the next review, we will take a closer look at the expectations of investors and financial analysts, their assessment of recession risks, the impact of macroeconomic changes on consumers, the state of the labor market, dynamics in the energy sector and commodity markets. We will also analyze the reaction of the US Federal Reserve System and other financial regulators to the current economic situation.
Tetyana Viktorova
