Many investors believed Donald Trump's return to the White House as the United States' president would be a bonanza for the US stock market, which had already hit all-time highs in recent months thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

They argued that the dealmaking, "America First" president would be sensitive to any uncertainty in financial markets caused by his tariff policy and would likely intervene, if necessary, to help stabilize prices.

But after weeks of uncertainty about Trump's protectionist measures, on Monday US stocks fell sharply, against the backdrop of fears that the world's largest economy could tip into recession later this year.

The Dow dropped almost 900 points, the S&P 500 fell 2.7%, while the Nasdaq toppled 4% — its steepest fall in two-and-a-half years.

Tesla plummeted by 15%, while the Magnificent 7 stocks — Apple, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla — collectively entered bear market territory. Deutsche Bank noted how these stocks have shed more than 20% of their value since December.

Bloomberg reported that the........

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