02:19 PM EDT, 04/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes and Treasury yields plunged intraday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 1,300 points, as President Donald Trump's latest wave of tariffs increased global trade tensions.

The Dow was down 3.2% at 40,879 after midday Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 5.1% to 16,696.7. The S&P 500 shed 4% to 5,444.2. Barring consumer staples, all sectors were lower, led by energy and technology, both down more than 6% each.

Nike ( NKE ) shares slumped 12%, the steepest decline on the Dow, with Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) also among the worst performers on the index. Other mega-cap tech stocks Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia ( NVDA ) , Microsoft ( MSFT ) , Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), and Meta Platforms ( META ) were also down.

The Trump administration's new reciprocal tariffs are likely to impact Best Buy ( BBY ) the most among hardline retailers, followed by certain home-furnishing companies, Wedbush Securities said. Best Buy ( BBY ) shares were down nearly 17%, among the worst S&P 500 performers.

Late Wednesday, Trump announced duties on imports from several nations, including China and Japan. A 10% base tariff rate takes effect for all countries Saturday, according to a White House announcement, though there will be additional duties that vary by country.

The latest tariffs are likely to impact global economic growth and inflation, possibly complicating monetary policy around the world, according to analysts. The move has ignited "fears that a broadening trade war will unleash a recession," D.A. Davidson said in a Thursday note.

US Treasury yields were down sharply intraday, with the two-year rate sliding 19 basis points to 3.71% and the 10-year rate dropping 15.7 basis points to 4.04%.

In other economic news, the US trade deficit narrowed more than projected in February.

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US dropped, while continuing claims rose more than projected to hit the highest in more than three years, government data showed.

US job cuts soared 60% month on month in March to 275,240, the third-highest monthly total on record, Challenger Gray & Christmas said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report Friday that the US economy added 140,000 nonfarm jobs last month, which would mark a drop from a 151,000 gain posted for February, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 6.9% at $66.79 a barrel intraday. Certain members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will increase production in May faster than expected in a move that was termed by UBS as "a negative surprise."

Lamb Weston ( LW ) posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results as volume gains helped offset lower prices, while the company reiterated its full-year outlook. The frozen potato product supplier's shares jumped 10%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.

Gold was down 1.3% at $3,125.20 per troy ounce, while silver tumbled 7.4% to $32.09 per ounce.