Nasdaq set to confirm bear market as Trump tariffs trigger recession fears

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was set to confirm it was in a bear market on Friday, down more than 20 per cent from a recent record high, as investors fled riskier assets on fears that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could spark a trade war and tip the global economy into recession.

Trump on Wednesday slapped a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports to the United States along with heavy levies on tech production hubs such as China, Taiwan and Vietnam, deepening a selloff triggered by concerns about AI spending that had pushed Nasdaq into correction territory earlier last month.

The index .IXIC was last down 3.8 per cent on Friday, after China announced additional tariffs of 34 per cent on U.S. goods in the most serious escalation.

The Nasdaq Composite index is down about 20 per cent from its December 16 record closing high of 20,173.89. A bear market is confirmed when an index closes down at least 20 per cent from its most recent record high finish, according to a widely used definition.

The tariffs and fears of retaliation by other trade partners have weighed on markets. The benchmark S&P 500 Index is down 14.9 per cent from its 6,144.15 record closing high, just 5 per cent away from confirming a bear market. The blue-chip Dow was on track to confirm a correction on Friday, a 10 per cent drop from its record closing high.

Heavyweight Apple is down 12.5 per cent since the new U.S. levies were announced, as its major manufacturing production base China faces an aggregate 54 per cent tariff rate.

The other big tech stocks have also tumbled.

Including Thursday's losses, Google-parent Alphabet is down 5.3 per cent , Microsoft declined 4.3 per cent. Meta Platforms has slumped 12.6 per cent and Amazon shed 13.3 per cent in the same period.

Tesla has plunged 37 per cent since Wednesday's close as the electric-vehicle pioneer grapples with protests against billionaire CEO Elon Musk's involvement in politics and faces slowing sales. Chipmaker Nvidia shed 11.2 per cent, as the biggest winner of the AI boom grapples with worries over slowing spending on data center.

An ETF tracking the Magnificent Seven stocks, the heavyweight tech adjacent names that have powered Wall Street's rise to record levels in recent years, has slumped about 27 per cent from its December all-time high.