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 as a relief rally proved short-lived and investor anxiety returned ahead of President Donald Trump’s next tariff deadline.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 701 points, or 1.9%, bringing its four-day loss on tariff angst to nearly 5,000 points. Apple led the losses with the iPhone maker’s costs set to surge with new China tariffs. At its high of the day, the Dow was up 3.9%.
The S&P 500 declined 2.8% and was inches away from closing in a bear market with it down 19.9% from its February record. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.4% after rising as much as 4.5% earlier in the day.
The Dow on Tuesday
Stocks began the day higher with traders citing an oversold market as reason for the bounce. Investors were also encouraged by signs the U.S. would 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, helping to boost sentiment. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also told CNBC on Tuesday that around 70 countries had approached the U.S. for tariff negotiations.
But, the market rally evaporated anyways, with shares like Apple leading the rollover. Apple shares fell 4.5% after having risen more than 4% earlier Tuesday. The iPhone maker has lost around 22% over the last four trading sessions and is on pace for its worst four-day stretch since 2008.
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.
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.