U.S. Stocks Plunge as Tariffs, Weak Jobs Data and Amazon Slump Shake Markets

U.S. Stocks Plunge as Tariffs, Weak Jobs Data and Amazon Slump Shake Markets

Last Updated Aug - 03 - 2025, 12:44 PM | Source : Fela news

Wall Street suffers sharp losses as new tariffs, a weak jobs report, and Amazon's disappointing earnings spark sell-off. S&P sees biggest drop in over two month

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, August 1, 2025, with the S&P 500 posting its sharpest single-day percentage drop in over two months. Investor sentiment was shaken by new U.S. tariffs on several trading partners and a disappointing jobs report. Adding to the pressure, Amazon shares plunged 8.3% after its cloud unit, AWS, failed to meet high expectations in its quarterly earnings. Just ahead of the tariff deadline, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing import duties on products from countries such as Canada, Brazil, India, and Taiwan. Meanwhile, labor data showed job growth in July fell short of estimates, and previous reports were revised significantly downward, raising concerns that the labor market is weakening.

These developments led to heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its September meeting. The CME FedWatch Tool showed a jump in market odds of at least a 25 basis-point cut—from 37.7% to 86.5%. The Dow dropped 542.40 points (1.23%) to 43,588.58, the S&P 500 fell 101.38 points (1.60%) to 6,238.01, and the Nasdaq slid 472.32 points (2.24%) to 20,650.13. For the week, the S&P declined 2.36%, the Nasdaq 2.17%, and the Dow 2.92%. The CBOE Volatility Index rose to 20.38, its highest since June 20. Amazon weighed heavily on all major indexes, dragging down the consumer discretionary sector by nearly 3.6%. Apple also fell 2.5% despite a strong forecast, as CEO Tim Cook warned tariffs would raise costs by \$1.1 billion.

Stocks dipped further after Trump announced he had ordered the firing of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Meanwhile, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler resigned, giving Trump another opportunity to influence Fed policy.

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