New York: Global technology giants suffered their steepest single-day losses since April, with Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla leading a $770 billion market wipeout following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on Chinese goods. The sell-off triggered widespread panic across Wall Street, sending both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to their worst performances in six months.
Markets tumble amid fresh tariff announcement
According to a CNBC report, shares of Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla each dropped around 5% during trading on October 10, dragging the overall market down. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3.6%, while the S&P 500 declined 2.7%, marking their weakest session since April, when Trump first signalled plans for “reciprocal” trade duties on major U.S. trading partners.
The sell-off accelerated after Trump, in a post on social media, declared that the U.S. would impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports. He added that from November 1, his administration would also enforce export controls on all critical software, escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Following the announcement, Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla stocks fell an additional 2% in after-hours trading.
Nvidia and Amazon lead the losses
Among the major technology players, Nvidia suffered the biggest decline, losing nearly $229 billion in market capitalisation on Friday alone — the largest one-day drop among the top global tech firms. The company, which produces high-end graphics processing units (GPUs) used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models, had recently become the first to hit a $4.5 trillion market cap in late September.
Amazon saw its market value fall by $121 billion, effectively erasing all gains it had made earlier this year. The e-commerce and cloud giant competes with Microsoft to rent out GPUs from massive cloud data centres that power AI development.
Microsoft, which invests heavily in cloud infrastructure, lost $85 billion in market value. Meanwhile, Tesla’s market cap sank by $71 billion following the release of its new line of lower-priced electric vehicles earlier in the week.
Other tech majors were also hit hard: Google parent Alphabet slipped by 2%, and Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, fell nearly 4%.
Ripple effects across AI and crypto sectors
The tariff shockwaves also rippled across the artificial intelligence ecosystem. OpenAI, which relies on Nvidia GPUs through partners like Microsoft, continues to face intense demand pressure. The company recently launched its Sora 2 video creation app and reported that ChatGPT now has over 800 million weekly users, underscoring how crucial GPU availability remains to AI innovation.
However, analysts said that increased trade restrictions could lead to supply chain disruptions and higher AI infrastructure costs, potentially slowing growth in the short term.
Bitcoin tumbles as crypto markets crash
The fallout wasn’t limited to equities. The cryptocurrency market also experienced a sharp downturn following Trump’s tariff declaration. Bitcoin plunged 8.4% to $104,782 on Saturday, leading a $19 billion loss across digital assets within a day.
Market tracker Coinglass reported that over 1.6 million traders were liquidated within 24 hours, with approximately $7 billion worth of positions sold off in less than an hour.
Trump’s post on Truth Social accused Beijing of aggressive trade practices, including restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, and pledged to implement “the strongest trade response in American history.” Analysts say his comments contributed to heightened volatility in both traditional and crypto markets.
Growing investor anxiety
Financial analysts warned that Trump’s renewed trade confrontation with China could have far-reaching consequences for global supply chains and tech exports. “This move signals the return of tariff-driven market instability,” said a senior analyst at a New York brokerage. “Investors are concerned not only about hardware imports but also about the impact of export restrictions on AI-related software.”
For now, the broader U.S. market remains on edge as traders await further policy details from the White House ahead of the November 1 deadline.