Worst-case scenario: Nasdaq loses $1.4 trillion in value

There’s virtually nowhere to hide for many US tech companies under President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime, the harshest in a century.

After Thursday’s plunge wiped $1.4 trillion in market capitalization off the Nasdaq 100 stock market index, the index is down 16% over the past six weeks. The Magnificent Seven are down even more, at 20%. Chipmakers are in free fall. And there’s little sign the pain is ending anytime soon.

China and Taiwan, the world’s centers of chip and high-tech manufacturing, were hit with taxes of 54% and 32%, respectively. Emerging manufacturing bases like Vietnam and India face taxes of at least 26%.

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This is a disastrous situation for companies like Apple Inc., Nvidia Corp., and Broadcom Corp., which source hardware components and labor from Southeast Asia.