On Street business: How a 10% drop in the American market led to protests

The protests that began on April 5-6 in the United States may eventually lead to the Democrats being able to achieve a majority in one or both houses of Congress in 2026, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. Citizens' discontent was caused by the president's economic measures: they fear that large-scale import duties will cause a spike in inflation, primarily on consumer goods. The American market has already collapsed by 10% in two days, its capitalization has decreased by $4 trillion. The giants - Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla - fell the most. Their suppliers and factories are located in the countries against which the highest tariffs were imposed. Whether the US market will continue to fall this week is in the Izvestia article.

Mass protests against Trump and Musk took place in the United States.

More than 1.2 thousand mass actions against Donald Trump's economic policy were held on April 5 in 50 American states, including those that traditionally support Republicans. Demonstrations also took place near the president's residence at Mar-a-Lago, where he was playing golf at the time.

About 150 public organizations, including civil rights activists, trade unions, and veterans, are behind the "Hands off" protests — most of them associate themselves with the Democratic Party. This is the largest protest since Donald Trump took office.

— The anger of Americans towards the actions of Trump, Musk and Vance is very significant and it is growing. Trump's first 10 weeks in power were marked by brutality and indifference, which the country has not seen in this century, says American political analyst Peter Kuznik.

According to the demonstrators themselves, their main goal is to speak out not only against migration policies, mass deportations and large—scale dismissals, but also against the economic measures introduced by the White House administration.

What happened to the American market after the introduction of duties

After Trump announced large-scale import duties against major trading partner countries on April 2, the American market collapsed. On April 3-4, the Nasdaq Composite technology index lost more than 10%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 8%, and the S&P 500 broad market index lost 9%. The latter lost more than $4 trillion in capitalization, which was a record two-day loss since the pandemic.

Apple was the hardest hit. In two days, the company lost 16% of its value, its capitalization dropped to $2.8 trillion. The company's factories are located in China, India and Taiwan, against which some of the highest duties have been imposed. Because of this, products will become more expensive, which can lead to a significant drop in sales. In addition, the company depends on the import of components and metals for high-tech production, which are supplied from countries against which increased duties have been imposed.

Nvidia and Tesla's businesses were also affected - the capitalization of the companies decreased by 15% in two days to $2.3 trillion to $770 billion, respectively.

By imposing large-scale duties, Trump expects businesses to transport factories back to the United States, which will make the American people “rich again.” However, in fact, the launched trade war, at least in the early years, will inevitably increase inflation in most major economies and lead to a slowdown in global GDP growth, explained Yuri Ichkitidze, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. First of all, the result will affect the States themselves.

Inflation in the United States in 2025 may reach 5% with the announced duties, while now it is below 3%, according to the experts surveyed. For the American economy, these figures are comparable to pandemic values.

In China, the United States buys mainly consumer goods: consumer electronics, shoes, clothing, toys, tools, furniture. That is, it is these products that will either rise in price significantly above the average, or they will become much less on sale. This is what causes the citizens' discontent.

Perhaps, at the beginning of the coming week, the stock market will stop falling, but not for long, stock market expert at BCS World of Investments Anna Kokoreva expects. The correction has not been completed yet, as a series of mirror responses from other countries will follow in April.

The reporting season is also ahead, and it is already clear that companies' forecasts will worsen, which is another factor in the deterioration of investor sentiment, the expert added. According to her forecasts, the S&P 500 index may lose up to 10% more in this cycle and fall into the range of 4700-4800 percentage points.

Is President Trump impeached?

In addition to trade wars, the US president's reforms in the domestic economy have already led to the abolition of more than 200,000 government jobs, as well as a significant reduction in social benefits. In addition, the protesters claim that Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who has become important in his administration, run the country as if it belongs only to them.

"Their hands are reaching for everything they can achieve — our healthcare system, our personal data, our jobs, our services. This is a crisis, and the time to act is right now," the organizers of the April 5 rallies said in a statement.

The White House did not stand aside and also issued a statement, noting that "President Trump's position is clear": he will continue to protect social security and health programs for those who rely on them. Thus, the Republicans, however, as always, oppose themselves to the Democrats, who offered all these advantages to illegal immigrants, which leads such government programs to bankruptcy.

On April 6, the organizers of the rallies called on supporters to protest again, this time at Tesla dealerships, to express their dissatisfaction with the active participation of the company's founder in public affairs. However, there is even a whole "Abolish Tesla" movement against Musk — all owners of electric vehicles are being urged to sell their cars, and investors are being urged to sell their shares in the billionaire's company. In addition, cases of vandalism have become more frequent in the company's salons.

Against the background of the protests, proposals began to be made to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump. Democratic Congressman Al Green, in particular, promised to actively address the issue. He also made such proposals repeatedly during Trump's first term.

— Right now, the impeachment option looks like a bid for the distant future. But given the growing discontent with Trump and his team, he is quite likely if the Democrats can achieve a majority in one or both houses of Congress in the 2026 elections, says political analyst Peter Kuznik.

Donald Trump, we recall, has already twice "escaped" impeachment, thereby making history.