On May 6, 2019, the U.S. stock market opened with a sharp gap down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 400 points at the open, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw declines between 1.5% and 2%.
The main reason for this gap down was renewed trade tensions. President Donald Trump tweeted on May 5, 2019, announcing a plan to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, which caught investors by surprise and triggered fears that the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China would break down. This threat led to immediate market anxiety and heavy selling, particularly for companies with substantial exposure to China and technology firms such as Apple and Nvidia.
