History repeats! US stock market plunges on China retaliation tariffs – a look at biggest market crashes in past
History repeats itself? On Friday, April 4, the US stock market turmoil intensified as China responded to tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, increasing fears of a prolonged trade war and its potential impact on the global economy.
Back in 1929, the US stock market lost over 20% of its value in two days, and 50% within three weeks. That was the famous Wall Street Crash that ushered in the great depression of the 1930s.
Nearly 96 years later, on April 4, 2025, a similar crash occurred after three major US stock indexes fell over 5%, with the S&P 500 declining nearly 6%, marking the worst week for the US stock market since 2020.
Biggest market crashes in the past
With fears of a global recession on the rise, here’s a look at biggest market crashes in the past:
Stock Market Crash 1929
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged from 63 points in August 1921 to 381 points by September 1929, marking a sixfold increase. It began to decline from its peak on September 3, with the drop intensifying during the two-day crash on October 28-29. On Black Monday, the Dow plunged nearly 13%, followed by an additional decline of almost 12% on Black Tuesday.
The 79% stock market loss was the worst drop in the past years, and ushered in the Great Depression.
Black Monday crash of 1987
On October 19, 1987, also known as Black Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted nearly 22%, marking the largest single-day drop in US stock market history. The mayhem continued throughout the month, and by early November 1987, most major stock market indexes had lost over 20% of their value.
1999-2000 Dot-com bubble
In the late 1990s, the values of internet-based stocks rose sharply, marking a sharp rise in technology-dominated NASDAQ Composite index. It surged from 1,000 points in 1995 to more than 5,000 in 2000. The Nasdaq peaked at 5,048.62 points on March 10, until it reached a low of 1,139.90 points on October 4, 2002.
The stock market bubble burst as the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy by increasing the federal funds rate, which restricted capital flow. It took nearly 15 years for the Nasdaq to regain its 2001 peak.
Financial crisis of 2008
In 1999, the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae) aimed to make home loans more accessible to individuals with low credit scores and limited funds for down payments. This surge in mortgage lending contributed to a stock market crash, itensifying it further when investment bank Bear Stearns failed to cover its losses. It took four years for the Dow to fully recover from the aftermath of the crash.
COVID crash of 2020
The most recent stock market crash took place in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In February, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 dropped 11% and 12%, respectively, marking their largest weekly declines since the 2008 financial crisis. On March 12, the Dow plummeted 9.99%, its biggest one-day drop since 1987, followed by an even sharper decline of 12.9% on March 16.
Unlike the previous crashes, which took years to recover, the market rebounded quickly after the COVID-19 crash in 2020.
Trump’s tariffs cause 2025 crash
On April 2, 2025, Donald Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, while separate rates were announced for certain trading partners. China retaliated by imposing an additional 34% tariff on all goods imported from the US.
Following China’s announcement, the S&P 500 dropped 6%, marking its worst week since the COVID crash. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2,231 points, or 5.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.8%, dropping more than 20% below its December record.
Meanwhile, US Stock Market wiped out over $5 trillion in Trump’s tariff war.
‘Great time to get richer,’ says Donald Trump
Amid plummeting stocks, Donald Trump declared that major corporations are largely indifferent to his broad tariff strategy, and added: “This is a great time to get rich, richer than ever before!!!”
