how much has stock market dropped since trump snapshot

A data‑driven, dated overview of how much US equity indexes moved after President Trump’s January 20, 2025 inauguration — peak‑to‑trough declines, percent changes by index, estimated market‑cap los...

2025-09-02 09:45:00

By Blockchain Linguist

Article rating

4.7

102 ratings

Bitget offers a variety of ways to buy or sell popular cryptocurrencies. Buy now!

A welcome pack worth 6200 USDT for new users! Sign up now!

Stock market performance since President Trump’s 2025 inauguration

This article answers the question: how much has stock market dropped since trump by reviewing index moves, drawdowns and dollar losses from President Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, 2025 through later reporting dates in 2025. It summarizes headline percent changes for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite, explains measurement choices (inauguration‑to‑date vs. peak‑to‑trough), timelines of key policy events and market reactions, sector contributors, and why different outlets report different headline numbers. Throughout we timestamp reported figures and attribute claims to primary news and data sources.

Note: this article is informational and neutral; it does not provide investment advice. For trading and market access, consider using Bitget’s products and Bitget Wallet for Web3 custody solutions.

Scope and definitions

To answer how much has stock market dropped since trump we define the scope and measurement methods used in reporting:

Timeframe: from inauguration day (January 20, 2025) through specific reporting dates cited in the article (dates are given with each figure).
Indices considered: S&P 500 (broad large‑cap U.S. equities), Dow Jones Industrial Average (price‑weighted 30 large stocks), and Nasdaq Composite (technology‑ and growth‑heavy index). These are the most commonly cited U.S. equity benchmarks.
Measurement methods:
- Inauguration‑to‑date percent change: compares the index closing level on the inauguration date (or the nearest trading day) with the index level on the reporting date.
- Peak‑to‑trough drawdown: measures the fall from a recent high (commonly the February 2025 record highs) to the subsequent low.
- Aggregate market‑cap loss: a dollar estimate of value wiped out across a chosen market or index universe; these figures vary by the set of stocks and date used.

Because the phrase how much has stock market dropped since trump can be measured in different ways, results vary by baseline and date. This article reports ranges and attributes each reported number to its source.

Summary of reported declines (short overview)

Reported headline ranges vary by index and measurement date. Major outlets reported early‑2025 S&P 500 declines in the roughly 5–10% range depending on whether the baseline was the inauguration close or the February 2025 peak and which reporting date was used.
As of March 10, 2025, Reuters reported an estimated $4 trillion of market value lost across U.S. equities tied to tariff‑related declines (Reuters, Mar 10, 2025).
As of April 29, 2025, CNN reported that the S&P 500 was down about 7.3% relative to the pre‑tariff peak and characterized the period as the worst first 100 days of a presidential term in more than 50 years (CNN, Apr 29, 2025).
Other outlets and data vendors reported dollar losses ranging from roughly $3.6 trillion to as much as $6.5 trillion depending on the market‑cap universe and dates cited. All headline figures depend strongly on the exact baseline and the universe of securities used.

Chronology and timeline of key market movements

Post‑election surge (Nov 2024 – Feb 2025)

After the 2024 election, U.S. stock markets rallied into early 2025. The S&P 500 reached fresh record highs in February 2025, which many analysts later used as the reference peak for measuring subsequent drawdowns. When people ask how much has stock market dropped since trump they often compare later lows to this February peak rather than to the inauguration close, which produces larger percentage drawdowns.

Early policy moves and market reactions (Jan–Feb 2025)

In late January and early February 2025, investors began to price in the new administration’s early policy agenda. Market participants reacted to the prospect of tariffs and trade policy changes. For example, on February 1, 2025, the administration signaled plans for a major tariff package; markets showed sensitivity to trade‑policy risk in intraday volatility and sector rotation.

“Liberation Day” tariffs and April 2025 crash (early April)

As of April 2, 2025, a widely publicized tariff rollout (referred to in some coverage as the April tariff actions) triggered sharp market moves. Major indices fell sharply in the days around the tariff announcements; several large‑cap technology and industrial stocks recorded steep one‑day losses. Reuters and The New York Times covered the abrupt declines and the sizeable dollars wiped from market capitalization in early April (Reuters, Apr 2025; NYT, Apr 30, 2025).

100‑day mark and subsequent short‑term recovery (late April – May 2025)

By April 29, 2025 (the 100th day of the administration), media reports framed the equity performance as historically poor for a president’s first 100 days. CNN described it as the worst first 100 days of any presidential term in more than 50 years, noting S&P 500 losses from the recent peak (CNN, Apr 29, 2025). After late‑April lows, markets experienced volatile rebounds and whipsaws in May as investors re‑priced policy expectations and earnings updates arrived.

Later developments through 2025 (mid/late 2025)

Over the summer and into late 2025, markets continued to respond to recurring tariff headlines and macro data. October 2025 saw renewed declines tied to fresh tariff rhetoric (CNN, Oct 2025). By December 2025, U.S. Bank market notes and other sources described a partial rebound from spring lows, with some indices approaching or retesting prior highs depending on the measure used (U.S. Bank, Dec 3, 2025). These later recoveries alter the answer to how much has stock market dropped since trump when measured against the inauguration date versus the February peak.

Index‑level details

When answering how much has stock market dropped since trump it is important to break the results out by index because composition and weighting produce different outcomes.

S&P 500

As a broad large‑cap gauge, the S&P 500 is the most commonly cited yardstick. Reported S&P declines differ by baseline:
- Inauguration‑to‑date: measured from the January 20, 2025 close to selected reporting dates, the S&P recorded smaller percentage declines than peak‑to‑trough measures.
- Peak‑to‑trough: measured from a February 2025 record high to the late‑April 2025 low, some outlets reported S&P declines in the ca. 7%–10% range (CNN, Apr 29, 2025). For example, CNN reported the S&P 500 was down about 7.27% as of April 29, 2025 versus the pre‑tariff peak (CNN, Apr 29, 2025).
Whether the S&P crossed formal correction thresholds (a 10% decline from a recent peak) depended on the low used. Some measurements reached the 10% threshold for certain subsets or at intraday lows, while the most‑commonly cited end‑of‑day measures remained in the single‑digit to low double‑digit percent range.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow, being price‑weighted and concentrated in 30 large companies, exhibited sizable but sometimes different percentage moves than the S&P. Media coverage highlighted notable one‑day point drops for the Dow tied to tariff announcements and large‑cap moves. Percentage declines for the Dow from peak levels were broadly similar to the S&P but vary depending on the exact high and low used for measurement (Reuters, Apr 2025).

Nasdaq Composite

The Nasdaq Composite, which is tech‑heavy and more growth‑oriented, tended to show sharper drawdowns when technology megacaps were hit by tariff, trade‑policy, or growth concerns. Some measurements placed Nasdaq declines into the 10%+ correction range from peak to trough, reflecting concentration in a handful of large technology names.

Market capitalization losses and dollar values wiped out

Reported dollar losses depend heavily on the universe counted and the dates used:

As of March 10, 2025, Reuters reported roughly $4 trillion of market value lost in U.S. equities amid tariff fears and early policy moves (Reuters, Mar 10, 2025).
Other compiled estimates published across April and May 2025 ranged from about $3.6 trillion to $6.5 trillion depending on whether the calculation included global equities, only U.S. large caps, or an expanded market‑cap universe and on whether intraday or end‑of‑day levels were used.

Why the range is wide:

Different data vendors include different sets of securities (e.g., only S&P 500 constituents vs. all U.S. listed stocks).
Baseline dates differ: some figures compare to the February peak, others to the January inauguration close, and some count cumulative intraday declines.
Exchange‑traded flows and market‑cap weighting can accentuate dollar losses when the largest stocks fall.

When readers ask how much has stock market dropped since trump in dollar terms, be sure to check the cited baseline and the universe included.

Sector and large‑cap contributors

Sector composition drove much of the dispersion across indices. Key sector and stock‑level observations from reported coverage:

Technology and growth: tech megacaps (the so‑called large concentration of market value) were disproportionately affected in percentage terms; Nasdaq often showed larger declines for this reason. Reports noted weakness among AI‑sensitive and semiconductor stocks during tariff episodes.
Industrials and consumer cyclical stocks: tariff exposure and supply‑chain sensitivity pressured selected industrial and discretionary names.
Individual large‑cap moves: high‑profile single‑day losses in large names (for example, big moves in major automakers or a single large‑cap stock falling sharply on tariff news) contributed heavily to index moves and headline dollar‑loss totals.

Sources attributed much of the early spring 2025 weakness to trade‑policy uncertainty, which tends to hit exporters and supply‑chain exposed sectors hardest (NYT, Reuters, Apr 2025).

Causes and contributing factors

When analyzing how much has stock market dropped since trump many sources point to a mix of policy, macro and market‑structure drivers. Media and analyst attributions emphasize correlation rather than definitive causation.

Trade policy and tariffs

Multiple outlets cited tariff announcements and escalation in trade policy as primary near‑term triggers for equity weakness in early April 2025. Reuters and The New York Times reported that tariff steps taken in early April precipitated sharp market moves and dollar losses (Reuters, Apr 2025; NYT, Apr 30, 2025).
Analysts told reporters that tariffs increased uncertainty about corporate profits, supply chains and global trade flows, prompting rapid re‑pricing.

Macro and monetary factors

Broader macro factors such as inflation readings, growth concerns, and Federal Reserve policy expectations also influenced markets. Some investors rotated toward fixed income and safe‑haven assets amid higher perceived policy risk.

Investor sentiment and volatility

Volatility spiked around the tariff announcements, reflected in VIX moves and increased intraday swings.
Investor positioning (leverage, options exposures) amplified moves at times, producing larger percentage and dollar swings in concentrated stocks.

All causal claims are quoted from analysts and media coverage; attribution is important—coverage from FactCheck.org and other outlets emphasized that simple political causal claims (for example, crediting or blaming one actor exclusively for market moves) are often oversimplified (FactCheck.org, May 5, 2025).

Market indicators and related asset moves

Other financial indicators moved alongside equities and help contextualize how much has stock market dropped since trump:

VIX (CBOE Volatility Index): spiked during the April tariff episode, signaling elevated investor unease.
U.S. Treasury yields: flows into Treasuries increased during risk‑off episodes, causing yields to decline at times as investors sought safety.
U.S. dollar: dollar strength or weakness contributed to commodity and international earnings dynamics that fed back into equity performance.

These indicators corroborate the narrative of risk‑off positioning during the spring 2025 drawdown.

Historical comparisons and significance

Media coverage compared the first 100 days of the 2025 administration to historical precedents:

CNN and Reuters framed the 100‑day equity performance as the worst since the mid‑1970s in terms of cumulative index moves for the start of a presidential term (CNN, Apr 29, 2025; Reuters, Apr 29, 2025).
Analysts drew distinctions between short‑term headline comparisons (which measure only a narrow window) and longer‑term performance, noting that past administrations also saw sharp episodic moves driven by shocks (e.g., 2008, 2020) while overall longer‑term returns followed different paths.

Historical comparisons can underscore the significance of early policy shocks but should not be taken as deterministic of long‑term outcomes.

Political claims, media coverage and fact‑checking

Political actors publicized market moves to bolster competing narratives. FactCheck.org and other neutral outlets examined claims that attempted to attribute market outcomes solely to the administration’s actions (FactCheck.org, May 5, 2025). Key takeaways:

Markets move for many reasons — policy, macro data, corporate earnings, and global events — and single‑factor attributions tend to be incomplete.
FactCheck.org urged careful baseline definition: whether someone claims the market is down a certain percent "since inauguration" depends on the measurement date and baseline used.

When evaluating statements about how much has stock market dropped since trump, check: (1) the precise timeframe, (2) the index or universe cited, and (3) whether intraday or closing figures are used.

Methodology, measurement caveats and data sources

Answering how much has stock market dropped since trump requires clarity about methodology. Common caveats:

Baseline choice matters: using the February 2025 record high yields larger percentage declines than using the January 20, 2025 inauguration close.
Index composition matters: the Nasdaq’s tech concentration often leads to larger percentage swings compared with the more diversified S&P 500.
Intraday vs. close: some outlets report intraday lows, which can exaggerate headline drawdowns compared with end‑of‑day figures.
Market‑cap universe: dollar loss estimates differ if one counts only S&P 500 market cap vs. the entire U.S. listed equity market.

Primary data sources used by reporters and market‑data providers included exchange closing prices, S&P Dow Jones Indices, FactSet, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC and historical index databases. When possible, this article timestamps each reported figure and attributes it to the cited source.

Economic and policy implications

Reported economic and policy implications of the early 2025 equity drawdown included:

Corporate guidance revisions and cost‑management responses in tariff‑sensitive industries.
Potential effects on capital spending decisions for globally exposed firms.
Political implications, as markets are often referenced in public debate about policy efficacy.

Analysts quoted in coverage emphasized that while equity declines can influence confidence and financing costs, the real‑economy impacts depend on the persistence of policy uncertainty and how firms adjust supply‑chain and pricing decisions.

Later outcomes and recovery (post‑drawdown)

By late 2025, some data and notes (for example, a U.S. Bank market note dated Dec 3, 2025) described partial recoveries from the spring drawdown, with some indices retracing a large share of earlier losses. Such later recoveries change the net drop measured from the inauguration date: if markets later rebound above early highs, the measured drop since inauguration narrows or disappears.
Because how much has stock market dropped since trump depends on the measurement date, readers should re‑check updated index levels for the most current answer.

How reporters reported the numbers (examples with timestamps)

"As of March 10, 2025, Reuters reported that roughly $4 trillion in market value had been lost amid tariff concerns and policy uncertainty" (Reuters, Mar 10, 2025).
"As of April 29, 2025, CNN reported the S&P 500 was down about 7.27% versus the pre‑tariff peak and described this as the worst first 100 days of any presidential term in more than 50 years" (CNN, Apr 29, 2025).
"As of April 30, 2025, The New York Times documented sharp index moves following early April tariff rollouts and highlighted large one‑day drops in major stocks" (NYT, Apr 30, 2025).
"A FactCheck.org item dated May 5, 2025, noted that political claims about market drops often omit baseline definitions and that different measures produce widely different headline figures" (FactCheck.org, May 5, 2025).
"By Dec 3, 2025, a U.S. Bank market note observed a later‑year rebound that reduced the net decline measured from the inauguration depending on the chosen baseline" (U.S. Bank, Dec 3, 2025).

Each of these dated statements demonstrates why figures answering how much has stock market dropped since trump vary across outlets.

Crypto and cross‑asset context (brief)

Although this article focuses on U.S. equities, contemporaneous developments in crypto markets were also covered by financial media and institutional reports in 2025. For context:

Institutional flows into Bitcoin ETFs and corporate treasuries significantly changed crypto market dynamics in 2024–2025, reducing historical volatility and changing liquidity patterns (industry reports, 2025).
As of late 2025, Bitcoin market‑cap and ETF adoption trends were cited as part of cross‑asset conversations about safe havens vs. equities. These developments do not directly change how much has stock market dropped since trump, but they informed investor asset‑allocation choices during periods of equity weakness.

For Web3 custody and trading, Bitget Wallet and Bitget’s trading products provide institutional‑grade access to crypto markets for users looking to diversify exposures (product references only; no external links provided here).

References (selected, dated reporting)

Reuters, "US stock market loses $4 trillion in value as Trump plows ahead on tariffs," Mar 10, 2025.
CNN, "The stock market’s worst first 100 days of any presidential term in more than 50 years," Apr 29, 2025.
The New York Times, coverage of market losses after April 2025 tariff rollout, Apr 30, 2025.
FactCheck.org, "Trump’s Stock Market Blame‑Shifting," May 5, 2025.
Reuters, "Stocks log worst 100 day start since Nixon," Apr 29, 2025.
Wikipedia, "2025 stock market crash" (consolidated timeline and summary entries, accessed 2025).
U.S. Bank market note, Dec 3, 2025 (later recovery observations).

(Each numbered claim and figure in this article is timestamped in the relevant paragraph and attributed to the listed source.)

How to interpret the answer to "how much has stock market dropped since trump"

Short answer: reported declines vary by index and baseline. Common headline ranges reported in major media during spring 2025 put the S&P 500 drawdown vs. the February 2025 peak in the mid‑single digits to low‑double digits (roughly 5%–10%), and dollar losses reported by outlets ranged widely (roughly $3.6 trillion to $6.5 trillion) depending on the universe and dates used (Reuters, CNN, NYT, Apr–May 2025).
Practical takeaway: when evaluating statements about how much has stock market dropped since trump always check the exact baseline (inauguration close vs. February peak), the index or market set used, the date of measurement, and whether intraday lows or end‑of‑day closes are reported.