The inauguration of President Donald Trump in late January had dealmakers dreaming of a resurgent IPO and M&A market. Now, those dreams have gone up in smoke as "Liberation Day" tariffs batter the market and investors run for cover. The turmoil has led to new issues and mergers getting put on ice, with some well-known companies including ticketing platform StubHub and specialty lender Klarna, putting their IPOs on hold.
Last week, President Donald Trump introduced the steepest American tariffs on imports in over a century, causing the broad market to plunge and igniting fears of a recession. As of Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite had dropped 20% from its record high in December, meaning the index is in bear market territory. The S&P 500 has fallen more than 17% from its December high, placing it in correction territory but still short of a bear market. The Nasdaq dropped nearly 6% to end Friday at 15,587.79 while the S&P 500 was also off nearly 6%, closing at 5074.08.
