Tech stocks led the US stock market on Monday, March 24, amid the Trump administration’s more targeted tariff plans. Shares of Meta and Nvidia rose to 3 percent each, with AMD and Nasdaq Composite achieving 7 and 2 percent raises, respectively.
This stock market update was critical as Trump’s retaliatory tariffs on all US trade partners are drawing closer. The administration is calling April 2′ Liberation Day’, the tentative date set to impose new tariffs, fulfilling a frequent campaign promise and raising revenue. The tariffs were reportedly planned to be industry-specific, including for cars and chips.
However, CNN’s latest reports suspect that product-specific tariffs will not be enacted by April 2. It also stated that the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products are still unclear whether they will be effective on the declared day or further postponed.
Nvidia Grapples with Hard Times
Parallel to these developments, the China-based Ant Group also announced on Monday that the Chinese-made chips had trained cheaper AI models, potentially making a big dent in the US-based Nvidia’s chip industry. In January, Nvidia’s stock plummeted over 16%, nearly $589 billion, in a single day as China-based AI company DeepSeek announced that its R1 model matched the performance of Open AI with cheaper Chinese chips. The company previously also claimed that its latest AI model cost just $5.6 million to train, compared to OpenAI GPT-4 that cost more than $100 million. However, at GTC, Ginseng Huang stayed affirmed, claiming that
“Every industry, every company that has factories will have two factories in the future. The factory for what they build and the factory for mathematics; the factory for the AI.”
He also announced that.
“We’re looking forward to building with GM AI in all three areas. AI for manufacturing, so they can revolutionize the way they manufacture; AI for enterprise, so they can revolutionize the way they work to design cars and simulate cars, and then also AI for in the car.”
FuriosaAI to Continue Independently
Another major headline in the tech industry is South Korea AI chip startup FuriosaAI’s rejection of Meta’s $800 million. The company plans to continue independently and strengthen its position in the AI chip market. This news may also cause a headache for Meta’s shareholders, who previously had to calculate the prices in regulatory overhangs and integration costs.
As the date of Trump’s new tariffs approaches, it remains to be seen how the tech industry will respond. Currently, the stats predict a boost in the AI-led tech market if the current tariffs are retained.
