Wall Street selloff: S&P 500 loses $2.4 trillion in market value, biggest one-day loss since 2020

S&P 500 companies lost a combined $2.4 trillion in stock market value in Thursday’s selloff on Wall Street, their biggest one-day loss in value since the emerging coronavirus pandemic sent global markets into a tailspin on March 16, 2020.

The S&P 500 ended down almost 5% after U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs ignited fears of an all-out trade war and a global economic recession.

Wall Street benchmarks slumped on Thursday, ending with the largest single-day percentage losses in years, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs ignited fears of an all-out trade war and a global economic recession.

A combined $2.4 trillion in stock market value was wiped off of S&P 500 companies, as the benchmark suffered its largest one-day percentage decline since June 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has also not had a worse one-day collapse since June 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite posted its largest percentage decline on any day since the coronavirus pandemic sent global markets into a tailspin in March 2020.

The trigger was Trump’s 10% tariff on most U.S. imports and much higher levies on dozens of other countries, which threaten to unleash a global economic upheaval.Investors sold positions to reflect the new economic reality, with concerns about how other countries would react to Trump’s proclamations from the White House.China vowed retaliation, as did the European Union, which faces a 20% duty. South Korea, Mexico, India and several other trading partners said they would hold off for now as they seek concessions before the targeted tariffs take effect on April 9.