Dow Plunges 800 Points as AI Disruption Fears and Trump Tariffs Pressure Market
The U.S. stock market plunged on Monday (February 23rd) as investors were gripped by two pressures simultaneously: concerns about the disruption of artificial intelligence (AI) to various industries and President Donald Trump's decision to raise global tariffs. The combination of technology issues and trade policy uncertainty pushed the market into risk-off mode.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 821 points, or 1.66%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.13%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.04%, sending the benchmark index back into the red for 2026.
The biggest pressure on the Dow came from IBM, which plunged 13% after AI company Anthropic unveiled new programming capabilities for its Claude Code product. The announcement sparked concerns that increasingly sophisticated AI capabilities could accelerate changes in business models in the software and technology services sectors, prompting investors to sell off related stocks.
Software stocks again came under negative scrutiny. Microsoft fell around 3%, while CrowdStrike fell 11%. The market believes the risk of AI replacing or suppressing some product and service lines could disrupt revenue prospects, especially for companies that rely heavily on traditional software business models.
The impact isn't limited to the technology sector. In recent weeks, concerns about AI disruption have also weighed on stocks related to trucking and logistics, commercial real estate, and financial services. Investors are cautious because AI is perceived to change labor demand patterns, operational efficiency, and cost structures across multiple sectors simultaneously.
Source: Newsmaker.id
