Dow plummets more than 720 points as Trump’s China tariffs sink in

U.S. stocks suffered heavy losses Thursday amid a day of sharp volatility after President Donald Trump unveiled his tariffs on China, at the same time he is dealing with the departure of his chief legal eagle John Dowd.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 700 points, slipping below the 24,000 mark. The S&P 500 dropped 68 points, while the Nasdaq fell 178 points.

The sell-off came as Trump announced that the U.S. will impose tariffs on China and restrict the transfer of technology to Chinese firms. The resignation of Dowd, Trump’s lead lawyer in the Russia investigation, and debate on Capitol Hill over a $1.3 trillion spending bill roiled the market.

While the big decline may be unnerving to investors, according to Sameer Samana, global equity and technical strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, this is the volatility the bank was expecting.

“2017 was unusually calm, and we knew this calm wouldn’t last,” Samana told FOX Business. “Eventually, the markets will go higher, but we will have more volatility.”

Investors are also getting comfortable with the Federal Reserve's move to raise its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, as expected, while also maintaining its stance for three rate hikes in 2018. The Fed also said it is looking for three more rate hikes in 2019, up from its previous plan to raise rates twice.

Samana noted that lingering Fed concerns could also have played into the sell-off on Thursday, noting that “we can’t dismiss that we will have more rate hikes later.”

According to Trump, the tariffs on China could as high as $60 billion, while the United States Trade Representative and the president’s chief trade advisor, Peter Navarro, told reporters in a briefing that they will be $50 billion.