The New York Stock Exchange started the day with a sharp drop due to the tension caused by the United States increasing tariffs. At the opening, the Dow Jones index lost over 1100 points, decreasing by 2.66% to 41,103.63 points. The S&P 500 index fell by 3.32% to 5,482.70 points, while the Nasdaq index dropped by 4.5% to 16,811.42 points. The stock markets followed a negative trend at the opening. Yesterday, President Trump announced that the U.S. would impose reciprocal tariffs on other countries, with a base tariff rate of 10%. The White House stated that the tariffs would remain in effect until the threat stemming from the trade deficit is mitigated or eliminated. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advised countries against retaliating with reciprocal tariffs, warning that failure to do so would result in higher tariff rates, escalating tensions. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick noted that there would be no exemptions for tariffs and did not believe that retaliatory tariffs from other countries would be effective. Analysts suggested that there was a belief in lower tariffs than expected in the markets, but the announced rates were higher than what had been priced in. Analysts also indicated that the broad tariffs imposed on significant trading partners by the U.S. had sparked fears of a full-blown trade war, increasing the risk of a global economic recession. The 10-year Treasury bond yield in the U.S. fell by 15 basis points to 4.05%. The Dollar Index also dropped by over 2% to 101.68, marking its worst daily decline in approximately 2 years. In the week ending March 29, the number of first-time applicants for unemployment benefits decreased to 219, below market expectations. The country’s trade deficit in February fell by 6.1% on a monthly basis to $122.7 billion. While exports increased by 2.9% on a monthly basis in February, imports remained stable. The decline in shares of companies with global supply chains and heavy reliance on imports, as well as technology companies, caught attention. Apple’s shares dropped by nearly 8%, Nike’s by 10%. Microsoft started the day with a decline of about 3%, Nvidia by 5%, Amazon and Meta by approximately 7%, and Alphabet and Tesla by around 3%, all experiencing steep losses.