Apple fell more than 6% in late trading Wednesday, leading a broader decline in tech stock after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs ranging from 10% to 49% on imported goods.
Apple generates the majority of its revenue from devices manufactured primarily in China and a few other Asian countries. Nvidia, which makes new chips in Taiwan and assembles artificial intelligence systems in Mexico and elsewhere, fell about 4%, while Tesla, an electric vehicle company, fell 4.5%. In the rest of the megacap universe, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta all fell between 2.5% and 5%, with Microsoft falling nearly 2%.
If Apple’s postmarket loss is matched in regular trading on Thursday, the stock will have fallen the most since September 2020.
Trump said Wednesday afternoon that the new tariffs on imported goods would be a “declaration of economic independence” for the country. During his speech, Trump stated, “Base; we will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers.” “Ultimately, more domestic production will result in increased competition and lower consumer prices.”
Trump’s announcements had a broad impact on stock prices. An exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 dropped 2.8%, while an ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 fell more than 3%. During his speech, Trump praised Apple, Meta, and Nvidia for their investments in the United States.
“Apple is going to spend $500 billion; they have never spent that much money here,” Trump said. “They plan to build their plants here.”
The Nasdaq just finished its worst quarter since 2022, falling 10% in the first three months of the year, though the tech-heavy index rose on each of the first two days of the second quarter.
