The Final Tally: Wall Street Screams “Sell First, Ask Questions Later” As Trump Issues Tariff Chaos

The stock market took one look at Trump’s latest tariff tease and decided, “Yeah, we hate this.” The S&P 500 sank 1.12%, the Dow coughed up 132 points, and the Nasdaq got absolutely bodied, dropping 2.04%. The tech sector was the biggest casualty, with Nvidia collapsing nearly 6%, while Meta, Amazon, and Tesla all got slapped around, each losing over 2%.

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The sell-off hit a new level of ugly after the White House confirmed that Trump would be dropping the hammer on auto imports in a press conference. That sent GM and Stellantis tumbling over 3%, because of course it’s going to jack up prices on cars Americans already can’t afford. 

Additionally, it wasn’t just automakers and big tech stocks getting smoked. Investors started freaking out over tariff fallout for AI and data centers, which sent former Wall Street darling Vertiv Holdings into full meltdown mode, crashing 12%—its worst single-day drop since July. Other big data center plays like Eaton, Trane Technologies, and Hubbell all got dragged into the abyss. 

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The real problem with all this? Nobody knows what the White House is actually doing. Trump has been playing a game of tariff chicken, first suggesting a broad trade war, then backpedaling to say the new levies would be “lenient” and “sector-specific.” So now, investors are stuck trying to guess whether this is just more election-year posturing or the start of another economic migraine. 

Naturally, Wall Street doesn’t do well with uncertainty, and the whiplash from conflicting tariff signals is making investors sweat. One minute, it’s business as usual, the next it’s "Oh sh*t!”. Meaning, until there’s clarity, expect more volatility and more traders panic-selling big tech like it’s their full-time job. 

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For now, the market is in full "Wait and see" mode—which, in my book, usually means “Sell first, ask questions later”. Fun times. Until next time, friends! 

If you read all of this, congrats for having a 10 second attention span (better than me). As always, here’s our heatmap for today.

P.S. Just when you thought our beloved congressmen couldn’t get any greasier, one Republican lawmaker decided to YOLO $175k into a stock—right before a major FDIC announcement hit. Lucky timing? Insider edge? You be the judge. We broke it all down inside last week's Stocks.News premium article—click here to check it out ASAP! 

Stocks.News holds positions in Amazon, Meta, and Tesla as mentioned in the article.