The stock market suffered a bloodbath anew on Friday as investors digested news of a growing trade war, with China making good on its promise with a steep tariff on US goods.
As of 2:55 PM, the S&P 500 lost 5.47 percent of its value, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 5.37 percent, and the Dow Jones was down by 5.09 percent.
Following President Donald Trump’s imposition of hefty tariffs on all imports to the US, China on Friday struck back with a 34-percent tariff on US goods. The tariffs will begin on April 10.
Ten individual stocks mirrored a broader market pessimism, recording steep intra-day losses. In this article, let us explore Friday’s worst intra-day performers and the reasons behind their decline.
To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2-billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
A man in black suit holding a tablet looks at stock market data on a monitor. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN)
Veren Inc. saw its share prices drop by 13.64 percent at intra-day trading as investors repositioned portfolios amid the heightening trade war between the US and its largest trading partners.
In recent news, VRN announced it was merging with Whitecap Resources Inc. for a transaction worth $15 billion.
Under the agreement, VRN shareholders will receive 1.05 common shares of Whitecap for each VRN common share held.
The combined company will be led by Whitecap’s existing management team under the Whitecap name with four VRN directors set to join the Whitecap Board of Directors, including the VRN’s incumbent president and CEO, Craig Bryksa. The transaction is expected to close before May 30, 2025. Upon completion, the merged company would become the largest landholder title in Alberta Montney and Duvernay, a prominent light oil producer in Saskatchewan and will leverage the combined asset base and technical expertise to drive improved profitability and superior returns to shareholders.
9. Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)
Cenovus Energy dropped its share prices for a second day on Friday, losing 13.07 percent at intra-day trading as investors sold off positions to mitigate risks from the ongoing global trade war.
CVE, a Canada-based oil and gas company, is expected to bear the impact of the ongoing trade war, amid various operations located within the US, Canada, and the Asia Pacific region.
At present, the company operates and owns a 50-percent stake in two refineries in Wood River, Illinois and Borger, Texas, through a joint venture with the operator Phillips 66.
It also has offshore operations in China with the Liwan Gas Project and Pearl River Mouth Basin, as well as gas fields in the Madura Strait PSC in Indonesia.
CVE was sold down despite analysts from the Royal Bank of Canada assigning an “outperform” rating and a $25 price target on the company on Wednesday.
8. SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN)
Shares of SoundHound AI declined by 11.99 percent at intra-day trading on Friday as investor sentiment was dragged down by the ongoing global trade war and news that it was facing a class action lawsuit alleging the company of making materially false information.
In a statement on Friday, law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP said that a class action lawsuit had been officially filed against SOUN on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities that purchased its shares between May 10, 2024, and March 3, 2025.
Last March 4, SOUN announced that it was unable to file its annual report for 2024 due to the complexity of accounting for the SYNQ3 and Amelia acquisitions.
The company said it required additional time to prepare financial statements and accompanying notes and that it had identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting.
Subsequently, on March 11, SOUN said that the company “did not design and maintain effective controls related to the identification of and accounting for certain non-routine, unusual or complex transactions, including the accounting for complex financing transactions and acquisitions.”
According to the law firm, the disclosure of its lack of effective controls was impairing its ability to account for corporate acquisitions.
7. APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)
APA Corporation declined for a second day on Friday, losing 13.22 percent at intra-day trading as investors sold off positions after two investment companies downgraded their outlooks for the company.
On Friday, Capital One lowered its price target for APA to $35 from $38 previously but kept an “overweight” rating on its stock.
Meanwhile, Wolfe Research downgraded its price target for APA to $36 from $40 previously but also kept an “outperform” on its shares.
APA is a holding company that owns Apache Corp., an American firm engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It owns various subsidiaries in the US, Egypt’s Western Desert and the United Kingdom’s North Sea and exploration opportunities offshore Suriname.
In other news, APA announced a dividend of $0.25 per share to its shareholders, payable on May 22.
6. Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE:AR)
Antero Resources declined for a second day on Friday, losing 14.47 percent at intra-day trading as investors disposed of its shares after the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit of Ohio upheld its decision siding with 370 landowners over claims that AR underpaid them $10 million in natural gas royalties.
According to the landowners, the company improperly deducted certain processing and fractionation costs from their royalty payments, violating their lease agreements.
The landowners already won against AR in 2023 when the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, ruled in favor of the landowners. AR then appealed the case to the 6th Circuit.
AR is an independent oil and gas company that acquires, explores, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil in the Appalachian Basin. Headquartered in Denver, it focuses on developing low-cost, repeatable, liquids-rich unconventional targets in the Marcellus and the Utica shales, two of the premier North American shale plays.
5. Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE)
Bloom Energy dropped its share prices for a third day on Friday, losing 14.55 percent at intra-day trading at $16.53 apiece as investor sell-off was weighed down by the overall market pessimism.
Just recently, BE entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement with Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE:CAG) for the deployment of BE’s fuel cell technology at CAG’s facilities in Ohio.
In a statement on Tuesday, CAG said that the PPA will see approximately 6 megawatts and provide combustion-free electricity generation, supplying approximately 70 percent to 75 percent of the electricity needs at the Troy and Archbold facilities, while also projecting a 19-percent decrease in their greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative was in line with CAG’s 2030 science-based greenhouse gas reduction target.
“We are delighted to partner with Conagra Brands, a leading branded food company,” said BE C&I Sector Leader Adam Colling. “Our collaboration underscores Bloom’s commitment to providing clean and reliable energy solutions and driving economic value in grid-constrained regions like Ohio and the greater Midwest.”
4. AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP)
AppLovin declined for a third consecutive day on Friday, losing 19.10 percent at intra-day trading as investors sold off positions amid the overall market pessimism, shunning news that it was acquiring social media giant TikTok.
According to reports, APP co-founder and CEO Adam Foroughi confirmed that the company placed bids to potentially acquire TikTok, but refuted reports that casino mogul Steve Wynn was involved in the bid.
In a regulatory filing, APP said it submitted a bid to acquire TikTok assets outside of China ahead of the supposed April 5 deadline set by US President Donald Trump to find a non-Chinese buyer.
However, it said that the bid proposal is still preliminary and there can be no assurance that a transaction will proceed.
Amazon Inc. and separately, a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, are competing with APP to acquire the Chinese firm.
3. Futu Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:FUTU)
Futu Holdings declined for a second day on Friday, losing 16.81 percent at intra-day trading on broader market pessimism, shunning news that it launched DeepSeek-powered tools for investors.
With Futubull AI, the company was among the 20 Chinese brokers and fund managers that have embraced the power of AI.
According to FUTU CEO Leaf Li Hua, Futubull AI incorporates up-to-date market data, including financial reports, research papers, online discussions from Futu’s investor community, as well as stock quote information the company purchased from Nasdaq.
With the integration of DeepSeek, brokers were expected to change the way they conduct research, manage risks, make investment decisions, and interact with clients.
2. Kanzhun Ltd. (NASDAQ:BZ)
Kanzhun Ltd. fell for a sixth straight day on Friday, losing 18.10 percent at intra-day trading, as investors sold off positions amid the overall market pessimism brought about by the ongoing global trade war.
Despite the drop, analysts remained optimistic about their business outlook for the company.
According to a recent report by investment research firm Zack Research, the consensus growth outlook for BZ inched higher by 0.7 percent over the past quarter, suggesting that analyst sentiment has improved and that the company’s earnings outlook is even stronger.
It is worth noting that BZ has beat analysts’ earnings estimates over the past three quarters.
BZ is a China-based human resources company that provides recruitment services through its mobile application, BOSS Zhipin.
1. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)
Patterson-UTI dropped its share prices for a second day on Friday, losing 19.41 percent at intra-day trading amid the overall market sentiment, with investors shunning news that it maintained a consistent number of drilling rigs in operation.
According to the company, it currently has an average of 106 rigs actively earning revenues under contract in the US.
Despite posting net losses last year, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN), an oil and gas drilling services company, still received an optimistic outlook from Zacks Research late last month.
According to the investment firm, the oil and gas company is expected to earn up to $0.04 per share for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, higher than the $0.02 estimate.
For the full year, however, Zacks expects earnings per share to settle at -$0.10.
In its latest earnings release, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) swung to a $51.58 million net loss attributable to shareholders in the last quarter of 2024, a reversal from the $61.95 million net income in the same period a year earlier.
It also dived to a net loss of $968 million last year from a $246.3-million net income in 2023.
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READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
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