Nasdaq crashes into bear-market territory

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index confirmed on Friday that it is in a bear market, after a 22.7% fall from its 16 December 2024 record close, as investors fled riskier assets on fears that tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump could spark a trade war and tip the global economy into recession.

The index ended down 5.8% on Friday, after China announced additional tariffs of 34% on US goods in retaliation for steep tariffs Trump announced against China on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq Composite index ended down 962.82 points at 15 587.79, versus its December record close of 20 173.89. A bear market is confirmed when an index closes down at least 20% from its most recent record high finish, according to a widely used definition.

Read: Trump tariffs stoke fears of a $2 300 iPhone

Along with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq also on Friday marked its deepest two day selloff since March 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dow confirmed on Friday that it was in a correction and the S&P 500 ended the session more than 17% below its record closing high.

The Nasdaq’s biggest drag from individual stocks came from heavyweight Apple, which ended down 7.3%, and Nvidia, which also fell more than 7%.  — Sinéad Carew and Sukriti Gupta, (c) 2025 Reuters

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