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Stocks cratered for a second day on Friday to end the worst week for the market since 2020.
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Fed chair Powell said tariffs were larger than expected, indicating officials wouldn't rush to cut rates.
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The Dow lost over 2,200 points and the Nasdaq 100 tipped into a bear market
Stocks ended their worst week since 2020 on Friday, with the Dow losing over 2,200 points and the Nasdaq falling into a bear market. The S&P 500 ended with a two-day loss of 10%, with the historic rout wiping out over $5 trillion in market cap.
Losses piled up as Trump dug his heels in on tariffs, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell indicated officials weren't rushing to cut rates, and high-profile IPOs were shelved amid the turmoil.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said that tariffs are expected to raise inflation and hurt economic growth. He said the central bank can afford to wait and see the impact of Trump's trade war before cutting interest rates.
"We are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance," Powell said at an event in Virginia.
Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. ET closing bell on Friday:
S&P 500: 5,074.05, down 5.98%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,314.86, down 5.50% (-2,231.07 points)
Nasdaq composite: 15,587.79, down 5.82%
The Nasdaq 100 dropped as much as 5% in Friday's session, putting the tech-heavy index down more than 20% from its February 19 closing all-time high of 22,175.60 and on track to end the session in a bear market.
Powell's comments contrast sharply with Trump's latest calls for the central bank to immediately start cutting interest rates. In a post on Truth Social, the president said it would be the "perfect time" for officials to loosen monetary policy.
"This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always "late," but he could now change his image, and quickly. Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months - A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!"
The sell-off was exacerbated early in the day by tariff retaliation from China. Beijing said it would start charging a 34% tariff on all US imports on Thursday next week, after the Trump administration imposed an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods entering the US. The tariff rate for China imports is now 54%.
China's move overshadowed better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls of 228,000 jobs for March — higher than the revised February total of 117,000, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, slightly higher than forecast.