Donald Trump's Tariff Policy Has Repeatedly Triggered Multi-Trillion-Dollar Stock Swings Since Early 2025. Here's Why Markets Still Struggle to Price In His Next Move.

Since early 2025, President Donald Trump's tariff policy has caused significant fluctuations in the stock market, with multi-trillion-dollar swings. On April 3, 2025, the S&P 500 fell 4.8% following a barrage of new tariffs, as the Magnificent Seven technology companies suffered sharp declines. However, the market recovered within six trading days, leaving investors uncertain about the president's next move.

Volatility has shifted from affecting the entire market to individual stocks, with the gap between single-stock and index volatility reaching 31% in early July 2026. Since January 2025, Trump's trade policies have changed over 50 times, often announced through social media posts. For example, Nike and Apple experienced significant drops of 14% and 9% respectively after new tariffs were imposed.

Trump later waived tariff rates for 90 days, causing Apple to rebound by 15.3%. In October 2025, the president threatened another tariff increase, causing a $2 trillion loss in market value, which was later rescinded. Despite the chaotic nature of Trump's tariff policies, the market must consider them as potential real policy changes.

Investors are advised to take advantage of volatility and invest in quality stocks when they appear undervalued.