Stocks sank on Friday as the reality of an all-out trade war following President Trump’s sweeping tariffs set in, fueling Wall Street strategists’ worst fears about how far the S&P 500 (^GSPC) could fall in 2025.

Amid a $2.5 trillion wipeout in markets on Thursday, strategists had warned stock indexes could face further downside should the trade war escalate. On Friday morning, that fear became a reality.

Stock losses accelerated before the bell after China said on Friday it would impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US products from April 10 — matching the extra 34% duties imposed by Trump on Wednesday.

By 11 a.m. ET, The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) pulled back 3.5%, or about 1,400 points, on pace to close in correction territory. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) sank about 3.8% as the broad-based benchmark was headed for its worst week since 2020. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also dropped 4.2%.

Friday’s losses extended a $2.5 trillion wipeout as markets digested President Trump’s launch of the most aggressive tariff plan in a century.

“If high tariff rates stay in place, negotiations are drawn out over a multi-month period and additional measures are taken with key trading partners, the risk of a recession/our bear case is likely to rise more materially,” Morgan Stanley chief investment officer Mike Wilson wrote in a note to clients on Thursday night. Wilson’s bear case projects the S&P 500 to end at 4,600, a level not seen on the benchmark index since December 2023.

The recent move in markets has already pushed some strategists to become less confident in stocks’ ability to rebound from the recent crash. In a note early Friday morning before China’s reciprocal tariffs were announced, RBC Capital Markets head of US equity strategy Lori Calvasina lowered her year-end S&P 500 target to 5,550 from a prior target of 6,200. That target of 6,200 had already been lowered from 6,600 less than a month ago.

“Our old bear case for the index this year has become our new base case,” Calvasina wrote.

As of Friday morning, it doesn’t appear the administration is backing down from its firm tariff stance. In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump wrote, “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”

At this point, with the administration holding firm and other trade partners retaliating rather than negotiating, some on Wall Street don’t see the tariff turmoil ending anytime soon.

Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

Luzerne County’s Government Study Commission approved several budget and finance recommendations Thursday.

The citizen commission is drafting a revised county home rule charter for voters to consider in November.

One recommendation would add a restriction to the county manager’s authority to transfer budgeted funds within departments.

The proposed new wording would not allow such transfers if the funds are used to create a new position or increase the salary for any position above the annual amount budgeted for that year.

Other than this new restriction, the manager would retain authority to make budget transfers, with the requirement to notify council and the controller within five days after a transfer is made.

Commission member Stephen J. Urban pushed for the transfer restriction, saying at a meeting last month the manager should be required to return to council for approval to increase transparency and council involvement in staffing changes that impact future budgets.

“You want to give the manager the flexibility to create positions, but you also have to give that mutual respect to council for controlling the budget and keeping that check and balance in play that council has to make sure the dollars are there and allocated,” Urban said.

All seven commission members approved the restriction Thursday.

Another recommendation approved Thursday would extend the deadline for annual county audits from six months to eight months following the close of a fiscal year.

Plains Township resident Gerald Cross, who had served as a consultant for drafters of the current charter, recommended the audit deadline extension earlier this year. Cross told the commission he heard complaints from auditors that the six-month deadline is too aggressive, particularly for a county this size.

A date related to the county’s annual budget adoption also would be altered in Thursday’s recommendations.

The charter says the budget must be approved between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15. The commission kept the Dec. 15 deadline but eliminated the window.

Commission member Tim McGinley said council may be in a position to approve the budget before Nov. 15, particularly in years when there is not a tax increase.

Finally, the commission recommended wording requiring “the creation and/or maintenance of a county reserve fund” as part of the county’s annual long-range operational, fiscal and capital plan.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.