The market close could not come soon enough today. Trump’s sweeping tariffs, announced Wednesday afternoon, have dragged stocks lower over the past two trading days. The Nasdaq is now in a bear market, meaning it has declined more than 20% from its recent high. The Total World Stock Index is not far behind, down 15% from its high.

Although Trump’s so-called "Liberation Day" was widely anticipated, the level of tariffs was at the high end of market expectations, representing a trade-weighted average of 15% compared to the 8–9% some participants had expected, and is the clear culprit of the selloff.

That being said, after the tariffs were announced, Scott Bessent urged countries to take a deep breath, and if they avoided retaliation, that these would be the high end of the tariffs. I interpret this as a clear invitation to negotiate. On Thursday evening, Trump stated that he was willing to lower tariffs if countries presented him with something "phenomenal," also a clear invitation to negotiate.

In one scenario, countries make concessions, Trump takes his pound of flesh, claims victory, and reduces the tariffs. Markets would likely experience a relief rally in this scenario. In another scenario, Trump draws a hard line and continues to escalate the trade war that he started, and markets remain volatile.

Today, while China responded with retaliatory tariffs of its own, Vietnam indicated it could lower its tariffs on U.S. imports to zero if Trump reciprocates. The coming weeks will likely reveal a mix of these potential outcomes and everything in between. Only time will tell how markets respond in the near term.

One bright spot I'd like to highlight was March's better than expected job growth, with the US adding 228,000 jobs, nearly 100,000 more jobs than expected. Admittedly, this is backward looking economic indicator, but it does suggest that the US is entering this new tariff regime on firm economic footing.

Without sugarcoating, we are in the midst of the kind of selloff that we’ve likely talked about as a hypothetical, and it’s always painful and unsettling to see moves so deeply in the red. While we cannot control the markets, we can control how we react, how we stay diversified, and how we manage risk. If you are an existing client of mine, your plan was designed with the realities of both good times and bad times in mind.

Client or not, if the uncertainty of it all has you feeling anxious, I invite you to schedule a time with me to review your financial plan. Reminding ourselves of this concrete and certain strategy for the months and year ahead can provide peace of mind in the face of near term uncertainty. Especially in times like these, I’m here to support you however I can.