A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 3, 2025. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU, AFP 

Wall Street stocks sank in early trading Thursday, joining a global equity selloff after US President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement exacerbated worries about a trade war and global economic downturn.

About 35 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 stood at 5,458.38, down 3.8 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 3.4 percent to 40,804.01, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 4.7 percent to 16,768.31.

Especially hard-hit sectors included apparel, where Nike, Macy's and Gap all suffered double-digit drops following fresh new large levies on China, Malaysia and other countries that are home to textile infrastructure.

Apple, which relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its products, was another big loser, sinking 8.2 percent. Amazon fell 6.9 percent, while Nvidia lost 4.9 percent.

The rout follows Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement in which he unveiled a broad swath of new levies affecting all US trading partners.

"Clearly what was announced was close to the worst-case scenario and markets were not prepared for that and are reacting accordingly," said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.

The barrage of tariffs has raised worries that inflation could be revived in the United States while growth and employment could take a hit if other countries resort to counter-tariffs.

Jason Schenker of Prestige Economics said in a note that the Trump administration could later drop the levies after negotiations on trade or other political priorities.

"We see the Trump administration's policies as a manifestation of outcome-focused economic Realpolitik rather than process-focused diplomacy," Schenker said.

"Recession and stagflation risks are rising with tariff uncertainty," he added.