US stocks plummeted on Wednesday as Nvidia warned new restrictions on exports to China will slice billions of dollars off its results. The S&P 500 sank 2.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 3.1%.
The head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said Trump’s tariffs appear bigger than expected, which could slow the economy and raise inflation. However, he also indicated that the Fed will take more time to decide whether to lower interest rates or not.
Nvidia slumped 6.9% after the US government restricted exports of its H20 chips to China, citing concerns about their use in building a supercomputer. Advanced Micro Devices fell 7.3% as it warned of potential losses due to US limits on exports to China.
The uncertainty around Trump’s trade war has led companies across industries to scramble plans for this year. United Airlines gave twin financial forecasts for its performance, one if there’s a recession and one if not.
A survey by Bank of America found that expectations for recession are at the fourth-highest level in 20 years. The World Trade Organization warned that tariffs could cause a 0.2% decline in global merchandise trade by 2025.
The “enduring uncertainty threatens to act as a brake on global growth,” said Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of the WTO.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/17/nx-s1-5367592/us-stocks-drop-nvidia-trump-tariffs