Stock market plunges for second consecutive day – How do Trump and Rubio see it?

On Friday, global stock markets plummeted for the second consecutive day. President Trump urged investors to buy at low prices, while Secretary of State Pompeo stated that once companies understand the rules, the stock market will bounce back.

In Beijing, it was announced on Friday that an additional 34% tariff would be imposed on American goods, indicating an escalation of retaliation and intensifying the market sell-off. Trump’s announcement of a comprehensive tariff plan on Wednesday triggered concerns among investors about a global economic recession, leading to market fluctuations.

At the opening on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 1,200 points. The S&P 500 index dropped 3.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3.8%.

Tech stocks continued to decline. Apple’s stock price dropped over 3%, accumulating a 10% decline for the week. Nvidia’s stock fell 5% and Tesla dropped 6%. These three companies have significant exposure to risks in China and are among the hardest hit by Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs.

In sectors beyond technology, Boeing and Caterpillar are major exporters to China and led the Dow Jones Index lower. Beijing also included several US companies on its so-called “unreliable entity list” and initiated an antitrust investigation into DuPont, causing its stock price to drop by 12%.

The VIX index, which measures expected volatility in the US stock market, surged to its highest level since August of last year, reaching 38.

Brent crude oil hit its lowest level in four years, falling below $65 per barrel.

On a global scale, the STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index continued its decline, currently down by 10% for the seventh consecutive day. The Tokyo stock market showed a general decline on Friday, with the Nikkei Index plunging for multiple days and breaching the 34,000-point mark. It closed the week with a 3339-point drop, while the South Korean Composite Index fell by 1.6%.

CNBC reported that Michael Arone, Chief Investment Strategist at State Street Global Advisors SPDR, stated, “Investors are selling first and asking questions later.”

On Friday, as investors flocked to the bond market for safety, bond prices rose and interest rates fell, with the 10-year US Treasury yield dropping below 4%.

President Trump urged investors to buy low on Friday, stating on the social media platform “Truth Social”: “For many investors who come to America and invest significant amounts of money, my policies will never change. It’s a great time to make money, more so than ever before!!!”

The President also called on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. He wrote on “Truth Social”: “Now is the best time for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates. He’s always ‘late,’ but now he can change his reputation and change it quickly.”

“Energy prices are dropping, rates are dropping, inflation rates are dropping, even egg prices are down by 69%, employment rates are up, all in the span of two months—this is a big win for America. Lower the rates, Jerome, stop playing politics!” Trump said.

Secretary of State Pompeo stated that after President Trump introduced a new round of tariff measures, the global financial markets would bounce back following the second consecutive day of severe decline.

On Friday, Pompeo expressed during a press conference in Brussels that businesses “just need to understand what the rules are.”

“Once you understand what the rules are, they will adapt to those rules. I don’t think you can say the economy is collapsing,” Pompeo said during his meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

He added, “Markets are collapsing because they are based on the stock values of companies that are currently embedded in production models that are not favorable to the United States.”

He also indicated that although the US is the largest consumer market in the world, it cannot rely solely on exporting services and importing goods, emphasizing the need for change.

“The President is correctly concluding that the current global trade situation is unfavorable to the United States but beneficial to many others. He is resetting it, and that’s absolutely correct,” Pompeo said.