US Stock Futures Slump Following Massive Tariff-Induced Selloff: Experts Warn Of A Brewing ‘Great Depression-Like’ Pattern

U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Monday after two days of decline last week. Futures of major benchmark indices were over 3% lower in premarket trading.

The selloff that started on Thursday intensified on Friday as China introduced its retaliatory measures to U.S. tariffs. As of Friday, the S&P 500 was nearing the bear market zone as it closed 17.46% lower than its previous record high of 6,147.43 points.

Dow was 14.99% down from its 52-week high of 45,073.63 points, whereas the Nasdaq 100 was already in the bear market territory, 21.71% lower from its high of 22,222.61 points.

The hopes of a Fed ‘put’ remained on standby as Jerome Powell said Friday that “It is too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy.”

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 3.93% and the two-year bond was at 3.51%. However, the CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections rose, showing markets pricing a 48.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve easing the current interest rates in its May meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, declined in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 4.01% to $485.03, while the QQQ declined 4.26% to $404.65, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

U.S. stocks closed Friday lower, with all sectors in the red. Financials, energy, and information technology led the S&P 500 sector declines.

Friday’s economic data showed strong March nonfarm payroll growth grew 228,000, exceeding expectations, though the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.2%, and average hourly earnings increased as predicted by 0.3% monthly, and 3.8% year-over-year.

The S&P 500 Index recorded its worst weekly decline since March 2020. With the S&P 500 plunging 10.5% over Thursday and Friday, this marks only the fourth time such a sharp two-day drawdown has occurred in modern market history—joining October 1987, September 2008, March 2020, and now April 2025.

Insights From Analysts:

The S&P 500 and Dow are showing a worrying pattern of steep, consecutive drops, reminiscent of the Great Depression, according to the experts.

Carson Research’s chief market strategist, Ryan Detrick, noted on X that a 4% drop in the S&P 500 on Monday would be its third straight over 4% loss, a pattern seen only three times before, all during the Great Depression.

White Oak Consultancy’s Jason Goepfert pointed out that Dow futures suggest a third consecutive loss exceeding 3%, a pattern seen only four times during the Great Depression.

The Sentimentrader graph shared by hi, shows varied Dow performance in the weeks and months following these rare historical sell-off signals, highlighting market uncertainty even after such events.

Meanwhile, according to Craig Shapiro from 3-Circle Investments by The Bear Traps Report, the absence of this perceived “Trump put” or “Fed put” could trigger a swift and significant market downturn.

Shapiro argues the market sought assurance from Trump or the Fed, but recent events show both safety nets are further away than expected. He predicts Fed intervention only if the Treasury market becomes unstable.

Shapiro warned, “All this being said, the lack of the ‘put’ for now means I think we are going to go significantly lower very quickly until UsT market dysfunction starts and the Fed says ‘no mas’ because this will eventually bleed into economic activity and exacerbate the slowdown.”

Despite growing skepticism, Stephanie Link, the chief investment strategist and the head of investment solutions at Hightower Advisors, said, “Buy.”

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will keep an eye on this week:

• On Monday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler will speak at 10:30 a.m. ET.

• February’s consumer credit data will be released by 3:00 p.m. ET.

• On Tuesday, the NFIB optimism index for March will be out by 6:00 a.m., and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will speak at 8:00 a.m. ET.

• On Wednesday, February’s wholesale inventories data will be released by 10:00 a.m., and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET.

• Minutes of Fed’s March FOMC meeting will be out by 2:00 p.m. ET.

• On Thursday, the initial jobless claims data for the week ended April 5 and the headline and core consumer price index data for March will be announced by 8:30 a.m. ET.

• Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will testify to the Senate, while Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid will speak at 10:00 a.m. ET.

• Also, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee will both speak at noon.

• March’s monthly U.S. federal budget data will be out by 2:00 p.m. ET.

• On Friday, the headline and core producer price index data for March will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.

• April’s preliminary consumer sentiment data will be announced, while St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem speaks at 10:00 a.m. ET.

• New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Stocks In Focus:

• Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI dropped 4.54% in premarket on Friday ahead of its earnings call after the closing bell. Analysts expect a quarterly earnings of 28 cents per share on revenue of $1.54 million.

• Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. PLAY declined 3.36% as Wall Street expects it to report earnings of 71 cents per share on revenue of 550.37 million after the closing bell.

• Greenbrier Companies Inc. GBX tumbled 14.49% ahead of its earnings call after the closing bell. Analysts expect a quarterly earnings of $1.78 per share on revenue of $898.53 million.

• Chanson International Holding CHSN surged 140.07% as it reported a year-over-year increase in FY24 financial results.

• China Pharma Holdings Inc. CPHI fell 13.91% after reporting a 1-for-10 reverse stock split.

• CECO Environmental Corp. CECO slumped 54.55% as May River Capital acquired its Global Pump Solutions, including the Dean, Fybroc, and Sethco pump brands, now operating as Tusk Industrial.

• Shell PLC SHEL lost 6.74% after its first quarter 2025 trading update cited higher upstream taxes and increased working capital, offsetting strong gas and oil trading.

• Heavyweights, Nvidia Corporation NVDA slid 5.13%, Apple Inc. AAPL fell 4.34%, Microsoft Corp. MSFT was 4.26% lower, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN dropped 4.40%, and Tesla Inc. TSLA plummeted 7.65%.

Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 3.79% to hover around $59.57 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar declined 0.25% to hover around $3,029.67 per ounce. Its fresh record high stood at $3,168.04 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was higher by 0.35% at the 102.660 level.

Asian markets fell sharply on Monday. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Australia’s ASX 200, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and South Korea’s Kospi index fell. European markets also crashed in early trade.

Read Next:

• Lack Of ‘Trump Put’ Could Drive Market Lower ‘Very Quickly,’ Says Expert, As Fed Chair Jerome Powell Stands Ground On Rate Cuts

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