U.S.-China Trade War Escalation Triggers Market Selloff, Tech Stocks Hit Hard

Financial markets reeled as President TRUMP announced draconian 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports effective November 1, compounding existing trade barriers. The surprise move after Friday's close sent shockwaves through global markets, with the Nasdaq plunging 3.6% in its worst single-day drop since the 2023 banking crisis.

Beijing retaliated immediately with a one-two punch: launching an antitrust probe against Qualcomm while restricting rare earth exports that control 90% of global supply chains. Tech giants bore the brunt, with AMD collapsing 7.7% and semiconductor peers Nvidia, Tesla, and Amazon all shedding over 2% in after-hours trading.

The economic cold war escalated as Trump canceled critical October trade talks with President Xi Jinping. Simultaneous U.S. export controls on vital software platforms threaten to decimate cross-border tech collaboration, potentially disrupting everything from smartphone manufacturing to cloud computing infrastructure.