Here's what bright minds on Wall Street are saying about Trump's tariff-fueled market meltdown
President Donald Trump's tariff plan is making stock market history — and Wall Street is reeling.
The president's latest and most aggressive round of tariffs has fueled the worst market sell-off since 2020 , leaving Wall Street on edge as concerns swirl over the economic impact of the tariffs and the growing possibility of a recession in 2025.
Stocks extended their losses on Monday, with all three benchmark indexes diving into the red and the S&P 500 briefly entering a bear market as Trump doubled down on his resolve to lower the trade deficit .
Here's what Wall Street's top minds have been saying over the past 24 hours.
Larry Fink: Economy probably already in recession
The US is likely already mired in a downturn — and stocks could plummet another 20% before they find a bottom, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said.
Fink, who spoke at an event at the Economic Club of New York on Monday, added that he was concerned the economy had more inflationary pressures than the market was pricing in.
Still, he saw the sell-off in stocks as "more of a buying opportunity than a selling opportunity," he said, adding that he didn't believe tariffs were creating systemic risks to the economy.
Bill Ackman: Tariffs could kick off an 'economic nuclear war'
Economic chaos is likely if Trump doesn't pause or scale back tariffs immediately, the billionaire hedge funder Bill Ackman said Monday in a post on X.
Ackman, who endorsed Trump during the presidential race, urged the commander in chief to call off the tariffs for 90 days to allow the US and other countries to negotiate over trade policy.
"If, on the other hand, on April 9th we launch economic nuclear war on every country in the world, business investment will grind to a halt, consumers will close their wallets and pocketbooks, and we will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate," the Pershing Square founder wrote.
In a separate post, Ackman said his firm would not sell its shares in the US stock market affected by tariffs during the sell-off.
"We will suffer mark-to-market losses if the market crashes, but we will not be sellers in a declining market," Ackman said, adding: "Over the long term, we are exposed to the health of our country and its economy. This is my only investment 'conflict' if you want to call it that."
