Stock Market Crashes: How to Protect Your Investments From Shocks to the System

After a banner year in 2024 and an upward spike in stock prices after the US presidential election, the stock market has had a terrible spring. Since peaking at 6,411.15 on Feb. 19, 2025, the S&P 500 index -- a benchmark for US stocks -- has fallen more than 15% over the past 6 weeks. The shifting tariffs policies of the Trump administration haven't helped. Yesterday, the White House announced a massive new set of tariffs for countries around the world. Today, US stock prices plummeted so quickly that the S&P 500 lost $2 trillion in just two and a half hours. And the market could be in the red for a while. "It is very difficult for businesses to plan in this chaotic tariff environment created by the Trump administration," said Robert Johnson, CEO of Economic Index Associates and professor of finance at Creighton University's Heider College of Business. Markets usually react negatively to tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods that usually drive up prices for consumers and stifle ... Read full article.