Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq wipe out Trump-led gains as tariff sell-off continues

US markets have eliminated all their post-election gains as stocks deepen their sell-off with fresh tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China now officially in effect.

The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) index is now down 1% since Election Day. Notably, it has erased about $3.3 trillion in market cap since Feb. 19.

The Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) has fallen over 4% over that same time period, while the broader tech index (^IXIC) is down about 1.5%. The blue-chip Dow (^DJI) has dropped nearly 1% since Nov. 5.

Only a few months ago, stocks traded at consistent records as Donald Trump’s presidential win fueled bullish Wall Street euphoria on hopes of pro-business policies and lower taxes.

Flash forward to today, and that euphoria has all but evaporated as Trump’s tariffs spark growth fears while inflation remains stubbornly elevated.

“Many of the key trends in financial markets in the run-up to and immediate aftermath of the US election last November have stalled or partly reversed since President Trump took office last month,” Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note last week.

“Since then, US Treasury yields have dropped back, the 2-10s curve has flattened, US equities have struggled both in absolute terms and relative to those elsewhere, and the dollar has dropped back,” he said. “In other words, the ‘Trump trade’ narrative that dominated many markets in Q4 is floundering.”