Historic Tariff Market Crash: Dow -2,231 pts, S&P -5.97%, Nasdaq Enters Bear Market; $6.6T Wiped in Two Days

April 4 saw the second catastrophic day of a historic market selloff triggered by Trump's Liberation Day anniversary tariff announcements (April 2) and China's retaliatory 34% tariff on all US goods. The Dow Jones fell 2,231 points (5.5%), the S&P 500 lost 5.97%, and the Nasdaq fell 5.8%, formally entering bear market territory (down 20%+ from its peak). Over the two-day period of April 3–4, the Dow lost over 4,000 points (9.48%), the S&P 500 fell roughly 10%, and the Nasdaq lost approximately 11% — marking the largest two-day market cap loss in history at over $6.6 trillion erased. China's Ministry of Commerce announced the 34% retaliatory tariff on April 4, effective April 10. Trump — rather than calming markets — posted a video to Truth Social on April 4 suggesting he was deliberately crashing markets to force Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, further unsettling investor confidence. Recession probability models surged: Moody's AI model reached 49%, Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month US recession probability. European and Asian markets also fell sharply in sympathy.