U.S. stocks plummet as Trump-Musk feud escalates

Lola Evans
06 Jun 2025

Wall Street slides after Trump says Elon Musk has gone crazy

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks fell Thursday after the feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and his biggest backer Elon Musk soured greatly. Musk maintained Trump would not have won the election without him. Trump described Musk as "crazy." Tesla shares fell $47.35 or 14.26 percent to $284.70 after Trump said he might halt government contracts to Tesla.

U.S. Market Performance

  • Standard and Poor's 500slipped31.51 points (0.53 percent)to close at5,939.30, with trading volume reaching 3.09 billion shares.

  • Dow Jones Industrial Averagedeclined108 points (0.25 percent)to settle at42,319.74, as 527.875 million shares changed hands.

  • Nasdaq Compositebore the brunt of the selloff, dropping162.04 points (0.83 percent)to19,298.45on heavy volume of 7.314 billion shares.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq's underperformance came as megacap growth stocks faced pressure amid rising Treasury yields and concerns about stretched valuations in the sector.

Market Drivers

Analysts attributed Thursday's mixed performance to:

  1. Position squaringahead of Friday's key PCE inflation data

  2. Sector rotationout of high-flying tech names

  3. Mixed earnings signalsfrom retailers and consumer goods firms.

Global Forex Markets Show Mixed Movements on Thursday

The foreign exchange market saw varied movements on Thursday, with the U.S. dollar gaining against some major currencies while weakening against others amid shifting economic sentiment. The euro edged higher despite the European Central Bank cutting interest rates by 25 basis points. "In particular, the decision to lower the deposit facility rate, the rate through which the Governing Council steers the monetary policy stance, it is based on its updated assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission," the ECB said in a statement Thursday.

Key Currency Pairs

  • EUR/USD (Euro / US Dollar):The euro strengthened slightly, rising0.19 percentto1.1438, as traders assessed European Central Bank policy signals.

  • USD/JPY (US Dollar / Japanese Yen):The dollar surged0.62 percentagainst the yen to143.65, as the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary stance.

  • GBP/USD (British Pound / US Dollar):Sterling gained0.15 percentto1.3572, supported by expectations of prolonged higher UK interest rates.

  • USD/CHF (US Dollar / Swiss Franc):The dollar edged up0.22 percentto0.8199, as the Swiss franc softened slightly amid risk-on sentiment.

Commodity-Linked Currencies Rise

  • AUD/USD (Australian Dollar / US Dollar):The Aussie dollar climbed0.23 percentto0.6506, benefiting from improved risk appetite.

  • NZD/USD (New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar):The kiwi dollar advanced0.18 percentto0.6035, supported by strong dairy export prices.

  • USD/CAD (US Dollar / Canadian Dollar):The greenback dipped0.09 percentto1.3664, pressured by stabilizing oil prices and a resilient Canadian economy.

Global Stock Markets Show Mixed Performance on Thursday

Global stock indices delivered a mixed performance on Thursday, with some markets posting modest gains while others edged lower amid fluctuating investor sentiment. European markets were higher following the ECB rate cut.

Canadian Market 

North of the U.S. border, theS&P/TSX Compositemanaged a modest gain of13.29 points (0.05 percent)to finish at26,342.29, with 269.488 million shares traded. The index was supported by strength in financial and energy stocks, which offset weakness in materials.

Europe

TheFTSE 100(UK) closed at8,811.04, up9.75 points (0.11 percent).

In Germany theDAXrose47.10 points (0.19 percent)to24,323.58, while France'sCAC 40dipped14.40 points (0.18 percent)to7,790.27.

The broaderEURO STOXX 50gained5.40 points (0.10 percent)to5,410.55, and theEuronext 100 Indexclimbed2.80 points (0.18 percent)to1,589.59.

Belgium'sBEL 20advanced10.86 points (0.24 percent)to4,518.35.

Asia and Pacific

TheSSE Composite Index(Shanghai) edged up7.90 points (0.23 percent)to3,384.10.

Hong Kong'sHang Seng Indexsurged252.94 points (1.07 percent)to23,906.97, while Singapore'sSTI Indexadded13.81 points (0.35 percent)to3,917.69.

Taiwan'sTWSE Indexrose56.34 points (0.26 percent)to21,674.43, while Japan'sNikkei 225fell192.96 points (0.51 percent)to37,554.49.

In Australia theS&P/ASX 200slipped2.90 points (0.03 percent)to8,538.90, and theAll Ordinariesdipped1.60 points (0.02 percent)to8,768.60.

India'sS&P BSE Sensexrose443.79 points (0.55 percent)to81,442.04, and Indonesia'sIDX Compositegained44.39 points (0.63 percent)to7,113.42.

In Malaysia the iBursa Malaysia KLCIincreased10.15 points (0.67 percent)to1,518.12.

New Zealand'sS&P/NZX 50jumped82.44 points (0.66 percent)to12,577.15.

In South Korea theKOSPI Compositeled gains in the region, climbing41.21 points (1.49 percent)to2,812.05.

Middle East and Africa

Israel'sTA-125climbed30.08 points (1.10 percent)to2,753.38, and Egypt'sEGX 30surged322.50 points (1.00 percent)to32,677.90.

In South Africa theTop 40 USD Net TRI Indexgained70.16 points (1.32 percent)to5,390.77.

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