Tech Sell-Off on Wall Street Deepens Amid Powell’s Tariff Concerns

U.S. markets plummeted sharply on Wednesday (April 16, 2025), as Nvidia shares reported losses and concerns raised by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the economic impact of tariffs rattled investors. Specifically, the industrial Dow Jones index on Wall Street dropped nearly 700 points or 1.73%, closing at 39,669.39 points. The S&P 500 fell by 2.24% to close at 5,275.70 points, driven down by the tech sector. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid by 3.07%, closing at 16,307.16 points, dragged lower by a 6.9% decline in Nvidia shares, which also impacted other tech giants and the chip industry. Nvidia shares plummeted by 6.9% after the chip giant announced it would record a quarterly charge of $5.5 billion related to the export of H20 graphics processing units to China and other countries. The company stated in a filing that the U.S. government requires a license for chip exports from the U.S. to China. Other chipmakers followed Nvidia’s drop, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) falling over 4%. AMD slid more than 7%, while Micron Technology fell more than 2%. Adding to the broader chip sell-off was the disappointing earnings report from ASML, whose U.S.-listed shares fell 7%.