Trump Tariffs Hit US Tech Stocks — Cathie Wood Bets $12M on China’s AI Surge

Key Takeaways

• Tesla and Apple led a U.S. tech selloff in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff announcement.
• Chinese stocks have held up slightly better.
• Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest recently bought $12 million worth of Baidu shares.

After Donald Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs on Wednesday, April 2,  the global stock market took a beating in post-market trading. And as Asian markets opened on Thursday morning, Chinese stocks were among the worst affected.

The latest tariff blow comes at a bad time for Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation fund, which just purchased $12 million worth of Baidu shares.

Tech Stocks Hit by Tariff Turmoil

Among American technology stocks, companies with extensive global manufacturing operations were hit the hardest by Trump’s tariffs.

Leading the drop, Tesla shares fell by more than 8% in after-hours trading. Amazon, Apple and Nvidia faced significant sell pressure too, declining by over 6% each. Google, Microsoft and Meta also suffered losses.

Chinese Big Tech Responds to Tariffs

Outside of the U.S., Asian markets, including the main Chinese indexes, fell across the board.

Once the latest tariffs come into effect on April 9, Chinese goods will incur a 54% import duty, serving a major blow to the country’s manufacturers and exporters.

Nevertheless, Chinese Big Tech stocks seem to have fared slightly better than their American peers.

Although Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent all saw their market value decline following Trump’s tariff announcement , none experienced the drops of more than 3% seen among U.S. technology giants.

The comparative resilience of Chinese Big Tech stocks suggests the market had already factored in some tariff shock, easing the pain of Wednesday’s announcement.

Moreover, recent bullishness surrounding Chinese AI points to business opportunities that don’t rely on physical exports.

China’s AI Opportunity

Fueled by technological advancements and the success of new AI models, Chinese Big Tech stocks have had a strong 2025 so far.

Even accounting for the latest market slide, Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent have docked year-to-date gains of between 9% and 55%.

In contrast, the Magnificent Seven American technology stocks have all dropped in price since the start of the year.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Buys Baidu

With their heavy exposure to American technology stocks, Ark Invest’s Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have lost between 8% and 15% of their market value since the start of the year.

The decline reflects the poor performance of Ark’s top portfolio assets. For example, ARKK holds a significant amount of Tesla and Coinbase stock, two companies that have performed poorly in 2025.

However, CEO Cathie Wood recently moved to diversify the firm’s investments.

Between them, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) purchased more than 120,000 Baidu shares at the end of March.

For Ark, the roughly $12 million investment marks a return to Chinese Big Tech after it offloaded stakes in Baidu and Tencent between 2021 and 2022.

The timing of the purchase reflects renewed optimism about the Chinese market despite the ongoing impact of American trade barriers.