S&P 500 loses $1.5 trillion after Trump threatened new China tariffs

The Dow tanked nearly 900 points on Friday as markets completely flipped after former President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on Chinese goods, accusing China of acting “very hostile” by tightening exports of rare earth metals.

The selloff accelerated into the close. The S&P 500 shed over $1.5 trillion in value. Traders bailed. Portfolios bled.

The Dow finished the day down 878.82 points, or 1.9%, at 45,479.60. The S&P 500 dropped 2.71% to 6,552.51, while the Nasdaq got crushed, falling 3.56% to 22,204.43. The S&P’s decline was its worst since April 10. Earlier that day, the Nasdaq had hit an all-time intraday high—until the tariff threat blew that up.

Trump halts APEC meeting, hints at “massive” tariff spike

Trump posted on Truth Social that he now sees “no reason” to meet President Xi Jinping at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea, adding: “One of the policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America.”

His move came after China imposed tighter control on rare earth exports, demanding that any shipment containing more than 0.1% rare earths must get licensed by Beijing. Trump called this a global hostage move, saying China is holding the world “captive” by weaponizing its mineral dominance.

That’s all it took. Markets went into full panic mode.

Tech names with deep China exposure got shredded. Nvidia fell nearly 5%, AMD got hammered by 8%, and Tesla gave up 5%. Oil prices dipped too, with U.S. crude sliding, as traders feared slowing global demand if tariffs drag out.

Crypto gets wiped as Bitcoin crashes to $116K

It wasn’t just stocks. Crypto got buried too. Over $1.28 billion worth of crypto positions were wiped out in liquidations over the last 24 hours, according to CoinGlass. It was a chain reaction. As soon as Trump said “massive tariffs,” Bitcoin tanked.

Bitcoin fell from over $122,000 in the morning to about $116,200, down nearly 4% on the day. Ethereum slid almost 8% to $3,975, and Solana dipped more than 7% to $205, per CoinGecko data. By Friday afternoon, all three tokens had hit October lows.

That price action effectively erased Bitcoin’s entire October rally. The crypto crowd had been riding high after BTC pumped 10.5% earlier this month, hitting a new all-time high of $126,000. That’s gone. Traders are now back to watching levels last seen on October 1.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)—Wall Street’s fear gauge—spiked above 22. That ended four months of steady gains in the S&P 500, as options traders rushed to buy downside protection. In short, it was panic hedging across the board.

Oracle outlook rises despite 10% selloff

Meanwhile, Oracle got a surprise vote of confidence from Citi, even as the broader AI trade buckled. Analyst Tyler Radke upgraded his price target from $395 to $415, forecasting nearly 40% upside. He kept his buy rating in place.

Radke acknowledged the recent pullback, noting Oracle shares are down 10% in the last month after a wave of headlines questioning its AI strategy and concerns over backlog quality and profitability. But he wrote that demand for AI infrastructure remains strong inside Oracle’s cloud business.

“After a historic Q1, ORCL shares have traded off 10% from recent highs on concerns around quality of backlog, profitability concerns following a slew of press reports and broader AI bubble/circularity concerns,” he said. He called the dip a buying chance, expecting “substantial potential for upward revisions” in Oracle’s outlook into FY2028.

He also pointed to strong bookings growth in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). That ramp, he argued, is being fueled by top AI clients. He also brushed aside fears over recovery point objectives, saying the concerns were “overdone.”

Radke expects Oracle to clarify CapEx, financing needs, and long-term profitability metrics tied to these growing AI projects. That could, in his view, help stabilize margins and drive future earnings. Whether investors agree next week is a different story.

The Dow closed ugly. S&P 500 got clipped. Crypto holders got smacked. It was a bloodbath, triggered by a few posts, a policy tease, and the growing sense that the U.S.–China trade war isn’t dead. Not even close.

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