May 2nd, 2025
Most stock markets around the world went down on Wednesday. This was because the U.S. government made new rules. These rules make it harder to sell special computer chips to other countries. These chips are used for artificial intelligence. The new rules affected big technology companies like Nvidia.
The S&P 500 stock index went down 1.2%, and the Dow Jones stock index went down 0.6%.
The price of shares for the computer chip company Nvidia went down by 6.3% after the U.S. government made stricter rules about sending out a computer chip it makes for artificial intelligence. The shares of another company, AMD, also went down by 7.1%.
People started worrying about a trade war again. This happened because the Trump government said they would study minerals brought into the country. These minerals are very important, like rare earths. We use them to make things like phones and electric cars.
In the morning in Europe, the FTSE 100 in Britain went down a little. This happened because the government said that prices in the UK did not go up as much in March. This was for the second month. The main reason was that gas prices were lower.
In Germany, the main stock market index, the DAX, went down by 0.7%. It is now at 21,107.68. In Paris, the main stock market index, the CAC 40, also went down by 0.6%. It is now at 7,289.67.
Stock prices in China fell more than in other countries nearby. This was after the Chinese government said their economy grew by 5.4% last year. This growth was strong because factories made a lot, people bought a lot, and the country sold a lot to other countries. But, if we look at the first three months of this year compared to the end of last year, growth was slower. It grew by only 1.2% from January to March, not 1.6% like before.
In Hong Kong, the stock market called Hang Seng went down by 2% to 20,922.54. In Shanghai, the main stock market index went up a little, by 0.1%, to 3,271.19. Before this, it had gone down.
Economists in private companies now think the economy will not grow as much. This is because President Donald Trump recently put higher taxes on most things coming from China. China also put higher taxes on things coming from the U.S.
Experts at ANZ Research said that business is already getting weaker this quarter.
Raymond Yeung and other researchers from ANZ said they believe businesses are worried more because things are uncertain than because of the taxes. They said President Trump's announcements have changed how businesses feel and what they do.
In Tokyo, the main stock market index, the Nikkei 225, went down by 1% to 33,920.40. This happened because big technology companies had problems. For example, the shares of Advantest went down by 6.6%, and the shares of Disco Corp. went down a lot, by 8%.
Stock markets in South Korea and Australia went down a little.
The stock market in India, called Sensex, did not change much. The stock market in Bangkok, called SET, went down a little, by 0.1%.
On Tuesday, American stocks went down a little. The S&P 500 went down 0.2% and the Dow went down 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite also went down a very small amount, less than 0.1%.
Because people didn't know what President Trump would do with taxes on imports, investors waited to see what would happen.
The market for US government bonds seems calmer now.
The interest rate on 10-year government bonds stayed at 4.33%. This was a bit lower than on Monday (4.38%) and last week (4.48%). A week before that, it was only 4.01%. When people are worried about money, the interest rate often goes down. So, this week's change has helped people feel a bit better.
The U.S. dollar stopped falling so quickly after it dropped a lot last week. People are now more worried that Trump's trade disagreements could make the dollar a less safe place to put money.
The price of Palantir Technologies went up by 6.2% for the second day. This is because NATO said they will use the company's AI technology in their work.
On Wednesday morning, the price of oil in the U.S. went down by 69 cents. It cost $60.64 for one barrel. The price of Brent oil, which is used in many countries, also went down by 65 cents. It cost $64.01 for one barrel.
Because of Trump's taxes on imports, people think economies will grow more slowly, so they will need less oil and other materials.
The U.S. dollar went down compared to the Japanese yen. It changed from 143.24 to 142.26. The euro went up compared to the dollar. It changed from $1.1283 to $1.1377.
May 2nd, 2025
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