Tariffs trigger a plunge in market-cap for top firms

New York: Top global corporations experienced the largest quarterly erosion of market values in nearly three years in the first quarter of 2025, hit by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which are fuelling heightened concerns of a US recession.

According to LSEG data, the top 10 global companies saw a 13.2% decrease in their market value to $18.64 trillion at the end of Q1 2025, marking the biggest drop since June 2022.

The prolonged surge in tech stocks, which had been a key driver of equity index gains, lost momentum as concerns over excessive AI investments, stretched valuations and uncertain profitability triggered market caution.

Tesla’s market value plummeted by 35.7% to $833 billion, while Broadcom Inc and NVIDIA recorded a 27.56% and 19.59% drop in market capitalisation to $787 billion and $2.64 trillion, respectively.

The Nasdaq Composite index, which had surged approximately 84.5% over the previous two years, declined by 10.42%, marking the highest drop since June 2022.