The Nasdaq Composite experienced serious volatility in April 2025, where it officially entered bear market territory due to escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China that triggered widespread market anxiety.
Marking its first decline since 2022 and representing a 5.8% drop, the index plummeted by 962.82 points, closing at 15,587.79. This steep fall positioned the index more than 20% below its December 2024 record high of 20,173.82, meeting the widely accepted definition of a bear market.
This downturn was attributed to President Trump’s implementation of sweeping tariffs dubbed “Liberation Day,” and China’s subsequent retaliatory measures, which stoked fears of a potential global economic turmoil. These aggressive trade measures particularly threatened technology companies who had significant manufacturing outposts in China.
According to a report made by Nasdaq, “23 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory and 7 finished in positive zone,” with the major loser of the index being NIKE Inc. The sport retail giant had its stock price fall 14.4%.
Simultaneously, the S&P 500 plummeted 4.8% to finish at 5,396.52, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 4% to close at 40,545.93, entering correction territory with a 10% decline from its recent peak. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) also tumbled 6.8%, highlighting the high impact this tit-for-tat tariff war had on tech stocks.
In addition, Apple, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, saw its stock drop 12% following the announcement of a new U.S. tariff rate of 54% on China, Apple’s primary manufacturing base. According to Reuters, other tech giants experienced similar declines, with Google-parent Alphabet dropping 4.5%, Meta falling 12.4%, and Amazon losing 10.6%.
In the Semiconductor industry, Nvidia, the leading chipmaker that had benefited significantly from the AI boom, dropped 13.6% as a result of these aggressive trade measures. Companies in the personal computer and server manufacturing space were also hit hard, with Dell Technologies and HP seeing stock price decreases of 22.3% and 19.1% respectively, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise lost 21.8% and Super Micro Computer declined by approximately 14.4% for the week.
The swift and severe market reaction to the tariff fears between the world’s two largest economies highlights the relationship and interconnectedness between global supply chains and the exposure of technology companies to policy disruptions.
However, Nasdaq has shown signs of recovery following a 90-day tariff truce between China and the U.S. that was announced on Monday. Despite the fact that it still remains below its December 2024 peak, industry analysts believe that the truce has paved the way for a recovery process to begin. As of May 14, 2025, the Nasdaq Composite has shown signs of recovery, trading at 19,010.084, representing a 1.61% increase with a change of 301.74 points on the day.
