The Dow swings wildly and the S&P 500 touches bear market territory as trade war fallout continues

The S&P 500 touched bear market territory and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed as much as 1,700 points early Monday — before gaining more than 700 points and then turning negative again. This chaotic start to the week follows days of market carnage as investors react to President Donald Trump’s apparent commitment to tariffs and to widely held fears that they’ll wreck international trade and transform the U.S. economy into something akin to molasses.

The Dow was down about 859 points, or 2.2%, as of around 7:50 a.m. ET, while the S&P 500 fell about 1.8%, and the Nasdaq was down 1.62%. Some of the biggest losers include Apple (AAPL-5.56%) and Nike (NKE-5.45%), both of which had shed more than 5%. Dollar Tree (DLTR+7.14%) rose above 7%, leading the gainers.

Clarification on Trump’s long-term stance on tariffs hasn’t calmed the market. After talk of a 90-day pause on tariffs seemed to buoy markets, the White House dismissed it as “fake news.” On social media, the president threatened to boost tariffs on China on Wednesday by another 50% — if it does not pull back on the 34% duties it imposed in response to Trump’s tariffs last week.

Billionaires have weighed in on the tariffs bloodshed, too. In an annual message to investors, JPMorgan Chase (JPM+0.45%) CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the “recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession.”

Meanwhile, hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman said, “We are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down” unless Trump pauses tariffs. And Virgin Group co-founder Richard Branson said, “This is the moment to own up to a colossal mistake and change course.” He added, “Otherwise, America will face ruin for years to come.”