U.S. Stocks Plummet as Traders Brace for Tech Earnings Amid Tariff Tensions

Hang on tight, folks! U.S. stocks took a nosedive today as traders are crossing their fingers for tech earnings to save the day, all while sweating bullets over those pesky tariffs.

The market's been getting hammered from all sides as we gear up for a make-or-break week of earnings. On Monday, April 28, the Dow Jones was down to 39,907.54, shedding 205.96 points or 0.51% right from the get-go. The S&P 500 took a hit too, dropping 49.57 points, or 0.90%, to 5,474.25. And over at the tech-centric Nasdaq, it was down 227.24 points, or 1.31%, trading at 17,155.70. Ouch!

Nvidia got slammed hard today, tanking 4.18% to $106.45 per share and kissing goodbye to a cool $100 million in market cap. Talk about a rough day! This came right as Huawei dropped their new Ascend 910D chip, gunning straight for Nvidia's H100. The Chinese tech giant's looking to swoop in and fill the void in China after the White House threw down the ban hammer on AI chip exports.

Meanwhile, both the dollar and Bitcoin felt the heat. The dollar index dipped 0.44% from the last close, landing at 99.03. Bitcoin (BTC) wasn't spared either, dipping 0.37% to $93,741 after last week's wild ride. But hey, gold's still shining, up 0.10% to $3,336 per ounce.

Tech Earnings Spark Fears Amid Macro Uncertainty

The vibe in the markets right now? Total uncertainty and nail-biting anticipation over Donald Trump's tariffs and the upcoming tech earnings. We've got Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft—the tech titans—set to spill the beans on their earnings this week.

But investors are sweating it out, worried that the earnings expectations might be sky-high, especially with all these macroeconomic headwinds blowing. Tariffs, especially those on China, are starting to hit the economy where it hurts.

And get this—the signals on lifting those whopping 145% tariffs on China are all over the place. On April 28, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dropped a bombshell, saying it's "up to China" to cool down the trade war. Looks like the White House isn't ready to back down just yet.