President Donald Trump’s new tariffs are affecting the stock market − including the share prices of Wisconsin-based companies.
The market’s Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday plunged 5.5%, or 2,231.07 points, to 38,314.86 for its largest single-day decline since June 2020 during the pandemic.
That followed a sharp decline on Thursday − bringing the index to around 15% below its record high and into a “correction.” A correction is defined as at least 10% lower than a record high.
The broad S&P 500 dropped 5.97%, or 322.44 points, to 5,074.08 to post its largest one-day drop since June 2020 and off about 17% from its record top.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 5.82%, or 962.82 points, to 15,587.79, putting the index into a bear market. That’s defined as at least 20% down from its closing peak.
The market reacted during the past two days to Trump’s Wednesday announcement that a 10% baseline tariff on imported goods goes into effect Saturday. Also, the U.S. starting April 9 will charge dozens of nations tariffs based on their trade imbalance with the United States.
Tariffs, which are a tax on imports, will force other countries to lower their import fees on U.S. goods and services, according to Trump. That will create a more balanced economic playing field for U.S. exports and a strong incentive for companies to manufacture goods in the United States, he said.
Opponents say Trump’s tariffs are prompting countermeasures from U.S. trading partners − which will slow growth for businesses in the United States and other nations. They also say higher prices for imported goods will fuel inflation.
With the stock market taking a huge hit, we checked on the stock prices of Wisconsin’s five largest publicly traded companies as measured by their annual revenue (the same criteria to rank the Fortune 500).
They are:
Milwaukee-based financial and payments technology provider Fiserv Inc. Its stock price closed Friday at $198.60 a share, down 12.2% from Wednesday’s closing price of $226.15.
ManpowerGroup Inc., a Milwaukee-based employment staffing company. Manpower’s stock dropped 11.2%, from $58.77 at Wednesday’s close to $52.19 on Friday.
Menomonee Falls-based department store operator Kohl’s Corp. The retailer’s share price dropped 16.6%, from $8.60 to $7.17.
Oshkosh Corp., a heavy equipment manufacturer based in its namesake city. It stock price dropped 13.8%, from $95.79 to $82.58.
Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc., which makes industrial automation products. Rockwell’s share price dropped 12.9%, from $260.86 to $227.11.
USA TODAY contributed to this article.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Bluesky, X and Facebook.
