It was not a good start to the week on Wall Street. The mood soured quickly Monday as two separate worries—one in the shadowy world of private credit and another in the very public arena of trade policy—combined to send stocks tumbling.
By early afternoon in New York, the damage was clear: the S&P 500 was down more than 1%, the Nasdaq 100 had fallen 1.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was nursing a 1.5% loss. The blue-chip index was particularly hard hit, dragged down by what can only be described as a panic in financial names.
The trouble appears to have started with asset managers. A wave of selling hit the sector after concerns emerged around a private credit fund managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL). The firm announced it is liquidating $1.4 billion in assets to raise money to pay out individual investors. On Wall Street, that kind of move can sound alarm bells, suggesting potential stress or a need for quick cash in parts of the credit market that aren't always transparent.
And the market listened. The reaction was swift and severe across the big names in private capital:
- Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO) sank 6.6% on the day, marking its worst session since Liberation Day.
- Blackstone Inc. (BX) slid 6.7% and has now dropped 16% over the past three sessions. That's its steepest three-day decline since the COVID panic of March 2020, touching its lowest level since late 2023.
- Ares Management Corp. (ARES) fell 6.3%.
- KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR) tumbled 8.3%, extending its monthly loss to 20%—its worst stretch since 2015.
The weakness didn't stay contained to the alternative asset managers. It spilled over into the more traditional financial heavyweights, the kind of stocks your grandparents might own. American Express (AXP) dropped 7.4%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) lost 3.5%, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) retreated 4.5%.
For the broader Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), it was the worst day since early April 2025. Not a banner day for the money business.
Technology, a sector that's no stranger to volatility, also remained under pressure. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) fell 5%, sliding to its lowest level since August 2024 as software names extended their recent downturn.
Just to make sure investors had plenty to worry about, a second source of anxiety emerged from the political sphere. Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump said he would raise his new global tariff to 15%, aiming to replace duties that were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court just last week. This move injected fresh uncertainty into trade policy. Now, businesses are left wondering: if they already paid tariffs that have been invalidated, will they get their money back? It's the kind of open question markets hate.
In this kind of risk-off environment, some classic safe havens did well. Gold rallied for the fourth straight session to $5,200 an ounce, and silver also jumped to $87. In crypto markets, however, Bitcoin (BTC) bucked the safe-haven trend and sunk 4.2% to $64,000.
