U.S. stock markets concluded the holiday-shortened week with notable declines, as escalating trade tensions and economic uncertainties weighed heavily on investor sentiment. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each fell by approximately 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.7%.

By several measures, the last two weeks have marked one of the most eventful stretches in market history including one of the largest historical one-day stock rallies on Wednesday in response to the Trump Administration’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs after a brutal sell-off in the prior week.

U.S. equities suffered their worst two day drop since March 2020 late last week in the wake of Wednesday’s tariff announcements and a quick response from China to fire back with its own matching retaliatory tariff of 34% on U.S. goods.

Regional and community banks offer a viable alternative to big banks amid rising discontent and mistrust in traditional banking.

Yesterday, President Trump announced his long-awaited tariffs on U.S. trading partners that will raise the effective tariff rate to levels not seen since the 1930s. Markets are reacting sharply to the news as the import duties are more onerous than broadly anticipated, and the announcement created more questions than answers as investors gauge the responses from trading partners and consider the longer-term implications.