- The Nasdaq has plunged over 20% from its December high, signaling a bear market as U.S.-China tariffs spark recession fears.
- Big Tech stocks like Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla have dropped sharply, with Apple down 12% and Nvidia losing 13.6%.
- Analysts warn the tariffs could crush tech earnings and disrupt global supply chains, risking an economic “Armageddon.”
The Nasdaq‘s getting hammered—again. By Friday, it was teetering on the edge of a bear market, down more than 20% from its all-time high in December. The trigger? A full-blown tariff war now raging between the U.S. and China, dragging tech stocks into chaos and stoking fears that a recession isn’t just coming—it might already be here.
AI Hype Meets Trade Reality
Back in mid-December, the tech-heavy index hit a record close at 20,173.89. But that feels like ancient history now. AI stocks, once the darlings of Wall Street, have been on shaky ground since early 2025. Now with China slapping 34% tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation for Trump’s latest trade move, tech earnings forecasts are going up in smoke.
“Tech earnings could crater 15%, maybe more,” warned Wedbush’s Dan Ives. “The supply chain will turn into a Rubik’s Cube—think COVID, but messier. And yeah, we’re probably headed for stagflation or worse.”
A Broad Market Selloff
The pain isn’t just in tech. The Dow’s down 10% from its highs, hitting correction territory, and the S&P 500’s off by over 15%. An ETF tracking the “Magnificent Seven” (the elite tech titans) has nosedived 27.6% from its December peak.
And Apple? Oof. Down 12% since the tariffs were announced. The 54% total tariff slapped on Chinese-made goods hits hard—especially when most of Apple’s stuff is built there.
Big names like Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet aren’t faring much better—down double digits across the board. Even Microsoft is slipping.
Supply Chain Nightmare Reloaded
Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital, didn’t sugarcoat it. “Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia—they’re already juggling regulatory drama and production headaches. Now they have to rethink pricing, margins, even where they build stuff.”
He called the 34% tariff from China a “line in the sand.” Companies will have to shift assembly lines, diversify markets—fast.
Musk, Nvidia & the AI Hangover
Meanwhile, Tesla is tanking—down over 13%. Sales are slowing, and CEO Elon Musk’s cozying up to the Trump camp isn’t going over well in Europe either.
Nvidia, once the poster child of the AI boom, is also feeling the sting—off nearly 14% since Wednesday. Investors are clearly nervous about how much more juice is left in the AI hype train.
Wedbush’s Ives put it bluntly: “Trying to drag America back to the 1980s manufacturing playbook with these tariffs? It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’ll crush the tech sector, stifle AI innovation, and spark an economic mess of epic proportions.”
Hardware Hammered
Hardware stocks have also taken a beating. Dell’s down 22%, HP dropped 19%, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise lost nearly 22%—just this week. Super Micro? Off 14%. Electronics are America’s second-biggest import category, and most of that comes from countries now slammed with heavy duties.
