U.S. markets nosedived Thursday, April 3, 2025, as President Donald Trump’s "reciprocal tariffs" unleashed chaos.

The S&P 500 crashed over 4 percent, the Dow plummeted 1,300 points (3.12 percent to 40,909.33), and the Nasdaq sank 5.18 percent to 16,688.61—one of Wall Street’s ugliest days since 2022. The dollar buckled too, hitting a six-month low, down 2 percent against the yen and 2.5 percent versus the Swiss franc, as investors bolted for safety.

Trump’s "Liberation Day" bombshell, dropped Wednesday from the White House Rose Garden, slapped a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports, with heftier hits like 34 percent on China, 46 percent on Vietnam, and 26 percent on India.

Effective April 9 (baseline April 5), the move aims to gut the $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit. "We’re ending America’s looting," Trump said, brandishing a tariff chart. But the shock—pushing U.S. import taxes to a 100-year peak of 22 percent, per Fitch—wiped out nearly $5 trillion in stock value since his term began.

The dollar’s dive signaled market panic, with gold soaring to $3,167.50 an ounce and 10-year Treasury yields slipping to 4.22 percent. Oil cratered over 6 percent to $70.27 a barrel, hinting at growth fears. "The U.S. economy could buckle," warned J.P. Morgan’s Hugh Gimber, citing inflation risks and Fed rate-cut pressure. Global markets bled too—Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.3 percent, Vietnam’s stocks dropped 6.7 percent, and Europe’s STOXX 600 lost 2.57 percent.

U.S. futures pointed to more pain Friday, with Nasdaq futures off 3.5 percent pre-market. "This could spark recessions worldwide," Fitch’s Olu Sonola cautioned. As of now, Trump’s tariff gamble has markets reeling—and the ride’s just begun.