Tech and Media Stocks Hammered Amid Global Instability and Ratcheting Tariff Fights

U.S. equities markets took a beating Monday as global investors reacted to signs of slowing demand and the instability driven by the nation’s ratcheting tariff wars with Canada, China and other key trade partners.

Tech’s “Magnificent Seven” stocks — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — all took a drubbbing, led by Tesla with a 15.4% plunge. None of the major media giants were immune to the downdraft, led by Warner Bros. Discovery with a 4% slide for the day to close at $10.59. Netflix fell 2.7% to $866.68. Disney slid 2.4% to finish out at $103.08. Comcast dropped 4% to $36.11.

Fox Corp. lost 3% to close at $50. Paramount Global, which has been much in the news of late as it tries to close its sale to Skydance Media, gave up only 1% to close at $12.

The Dow Jones companies collectively gave up 2% for the day, or 890 points, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ index dropped 4%, its lowest ebb since October 2022. The S&P 500 fell 2.7%.

Google parent Alphabet took a 4.4% hit, closing at $167.81. Amazon eased 2.3% ($194.54), Apple fell 5% ($227.48), Meta also sank 4.4% ($597.99), Microsoft dropped 3% ($380.16) and microchip darling Nvidia was down 5% ($106.98).

Markets were spooked in part by signals from corporate giants such as Delta, which cut its earnings forecast for the year amid an anticipated reduction in business travel. President Donald Trump’s steady drumbeat of tariff threats against longstanding trading partners such as China and Canada has sparked concerns and fears that the expected spike in prices for key goods and services could push the U.S. into a recession.

The threat of a federal government shutdown is also weighing on U.S. markets. The discord in Washington, D.C. amid the early months of Trump’s second term raises the stake that federal workers may be caught in the partisan crossfire if key budget legislation is not in place by midnight on March 14.

More to come