Wall Street Plunges on Jobs Slump, Tariff Hikes

Wall Street posted its steepest losses since May after a disappointing July jobs report and President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs raising rates up to 41% on imports from countries including Canada, India, and Taiwan—the highest levels since the 1930s. Only 73,000 new U.S. jobs were added in July, with downward revisions of over 250,000 for prior months, marking the slowest three-month pace since the pandemic. These twin shocks led to a sharp rise in expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, with market odds jumping from under 40% to over 80%. Major tech stocks fell sharply, with Amazon tumbling up to 8% after weak cloud growth, while banking and industrial shares also slumped. The volatility index spiked to a six-week high, and global markets followed the U.S. selloff. Despite mounting risks, the White House defended its economic policies and expressed confidence in ongoing growth.