
Trump tariff threats have turned the stock market’s winners and losers upside down
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s tariffs on top U.S. trading partners are set to take effect in coming days.
Investors have been trying to pinpoint the potential winners and losers for weeks. They are ditching risky corners of the stock market for areas perceived as more insulated from Trump’s trade salvos. The S&P 500’s consumer-staples, healthcare and real-estate sectors, which are traditionally considered defensive, are up more than 5% this year and among the market’s best performers.
The financials segment, which largely conducts business domestically, has risen 7.8%. All are outperforming the benchmark index, which has added 1.2%. Meanwhile, some of Wall Street’s most popular trades have lost their shimmer.
AI darling Nvidia’s stock tumbled 8.5% Thursday despite reporting another solid quarter. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven exchange-traded fund suffered a correction last week, a drop of more than 10% from its December high. MicroStrategy, the bitcoin-buying machine whose popularity exploded following the election, has slumped 12% in 2025.
And bitcoin was trading around $84,000 as of 4 p.m. ET Friday, down from around $105,000 on Inauguration Day. Markets were jolted last week after Trump said tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, along with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, would take effect Tuesday.
He recently announced 25% levies on steel and aluminum and floated 25% tariffs on goods from the European Union. Trump said he is also considering hefty tariffs on cars, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products. Analysts fret that Trump’s militant trade policies could push inflation higher and test the economy’s strength.
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