S&P 500 Plunges Below 5,000 Amid Tariff Fears and Market Selloff

The S&P 500 fell sharply on Tuesday, closing below 5,000 points for the first time in nearly a year, as optimism faded over any delay or softening of U.S. tariffs ahead of a key deadline. The index dropped 1.57% to 4,982.77, losing $5.83 trillion in market value over four days—its steepest decline since its inception in the 1950s. This 12% drop marks the largest four-day percentage loss since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Markets initially rallied more than 4% on Tuesday morning, fueled by hopes that former President Donald Trump would reconsider the tariff hike. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the tariffs, including a 104% hike on Chinese imports, would go into effect as scheduled. China responded, rejecting the “blackmail” nature of the threats.

Investor sentiment turned sharply negative, with the Dow dropping 320.01 points to 37,645.59 and the Nasdaq sliding 335.35 points to 15,267.91. The CBOE Volatility Index spiked to 52.33, its highest since March 2020, indicating rising fear among investors.

Federal Reserve officials, including San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, urged caution against rushing rate cuts despite market turmoil, citing a strong U.S. economy and policy uncertainty.

Earnings season begins later this week with major banks like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo set to report. Analysts expect corporate guidance to highlight concerns over the new tariffs’ long-term impact.

Meanwhile, health insurers UnitedHealth and Humana surged 5.4% and 10.7% respectively, following a government decision to raise 2026 Medicare Advantage payment rates by 5.06%.

Market breadth was overwhelmingly negative, with declining stocks outpacing advancers on both the NYSE and Nasdaq. Trading volume surged, with over 23 billion shares changing hands.