Transcript of US stocks plunge as fears grow over economic slowdown | BBC News

Now, let's talk to you a little bit more about the economy in the US. Why? Well, because shares on Wall Street have slumped today, led by the Nasdaq, which plunged by as much as 4% at one point earlier. The sell-off is driven by concerns about the impact of President Trump's trade policies on the US economy. Investors are worried that a trade war could push the economy into some recession. While speaking to Fox News on Sunday, President Trump appeared not to rule that out.

I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing. There are always periods of... It takes a little time. It takes a little time.

Now we've got tariffs and the market has been going down.

Well, not much. I mean, in all fairness.

You said, Look, we're going to have a disruption, but we're okay with that. Is that what you meant, the stock market going down was the disruption? What other disruption you were alluding to?

Look, what I have to do is build a strong country. You can't really watch the stock market.

Well, our North America business correspondent, Michelle Fleury, says Donald Trump seems to be making different decisions in his second term.

Well, I think if you judge bypassed behavior, then yes, the President has responded when markets have spoken. But I think what they are taking away from that message in that interview is that that has changed, that Donald Trump 2. 0, if you like, in the second presidency, is looking past the markets. That is why we're seeing this sell-off intensifying as the day has progressed. You mentioned the Nasdaq down over 4%, Tesla, one of the big fall The US of the day, down more than 10%, down more than 50% since its peak back in December. The S&P 500, the broader index, also down more than 2% today. Part of this, you have to understand, is that for a long time, Wall Street didn't believe Donald Trump would follow through on his threats of tariffs. But just last week, we saw those tariffs go into effect on Canada, Mexico, and China. Later this week, we're expecting more tariffs on steel and aluminum products. Donald Trump is calling their bluff, and he's saying he's willing to tolerate, as he's mentioned in the past in that speech before Congress, a little disturbance. That has unnerved people wondering, well, what exactly does that mean?

How much disturbance is this administration willing to tolerate to achieve its broader ambitions, whether that's rebalancing trade, whether that's deregulation, whether that's following through on tax cuts. That is the big unknown and is the big gamble this administration is taking.

Well, take a look at this. The Dow Jones is down 2. 6%. The Wall Street is heading for what some believe could be its worst day since 2022. This, of course, as we just outlined a moment or two ago, really based on the market's fears of recession. The one thing that markets wherever you are, be it in London, New York, or in Paris, one thing they hate is not knowing what is going to happen next. That sense of insecurity really has had a huge impact on the markets. The Nasdaq, I don't have that figure at the moment, but at one point, I mentioned earlier, it tanked by as much as 4. 2%. That, of course, is very heavy with technology stocks. So all of the US markets are not really having a very good day at.