The New York Stock Exchange started the day with a sharp decline due to the tension caused by the increase in US customs tariffs. At the opening, the Dow Jones Index lost over 1100 points, sliding 2.66% to 41,103.63 points. The S&P 500 index fell 3.32% to 5,482.70 points, and the Nasdaq index dropped 4.5% to 16,811.42 points. The equity markets showed a negative trend at the opening. Yesterday, US President Trump announced that the US would impose reciprocal tariffs on other countries, with a basic tariff rate of 10%. The White House stated that the tariffs would remain in effect until the threat posed by the trade deficit is eliminated or mitigated. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advised countries against retaliatory tariffs, stating that if no retaliations are taken, higher customs duty rates would not be imposed, but would escalate otherwise. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also noted that there would be no exemptions for tariffs and believed that retaliation by countries against customs duties would not be effective. Analysts mentioned a belief in the markets that customs tariffs could be lower than expected, but the announced rates were higher than the tariffs priced in the market. Analysts also indicated that the broad customs tariffs against significant trading partners of the US triggered fears of a full-scale trade war, increasing the risk of the global economy falling into a recession. The interest rate on US 10-year treasury bonds fell by 15 basis points to 4.05%. The US dollar index dropped by over 2%, reaching 101.68 and recording its worst daily decline in about 2 years. The number of first-time unemployment benefit applicants in the week ending March 29 fell to 219,000, below market expectations. The country’s trade deficit decreased by 6.1% in February on a monthly basis, reaching $122.7 billion. While US exports increased by 2.9% on a monthly basis in February, imports remained stable. The decline in shares of companies with global supply chains and high import dependencies, along with technology companies, attracted attention. Apple’s shares dropped by approximately 8%, Nike’s shares by 10%. Microsoft started the day with a decline of around 3%, Nvidia by 5%, Amazon and Meta by about 7%, and Alphabet and Tesla by around 3% with sharp losses.