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Nvidia and Apple stocks show how investors are firefighting Trump's tariff changes

Among the "Magnificent Seven" Big Tech stocks, Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) have found themselves at the forefront of Trump's trade war.

This week, for better and worse.

The two tech stocks' volatility since Trump's "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2 is one of the more salient examples of how investors are battling through ever-changing aggressive trade rules from the administration.

Apple was initially the biggest loser from the trade rules, with some 90% of its iPhones made in China, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. The company led Big Tech stocks down in the days following Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2, shedding as much as $773 billion from its market cap.

A tariff exemption for some consumer electronics — covering basically all of Apple's products — announced late last Friday by US Customs and Border Protection relieved some pressure on the stock earlier this week, with shares of the iPhone maker rising more than 2% Monday.

Apple's recovery helped stem its market cap losses and briefly put its value back above $3 trillion.

Nvidia was less fortunate this week.

The company disclosed late Tuesday that the US government has effectively banned exports of its specialized chips to China, sending shares down nearly 7% on Wednesday.

Though the AI chipmaker has lost a lower share of its value than Apple since April 2, most of the pain came this week as the company's market cap dropped 8%, or $230 billion. Over that same period, Apple stock was down only fractionally.

"In our view, this recent development heightens investor uncertainty in an already highly-uncertain environment," Stifel analyst Ruben Roy wrote in an analysis Wednesday.

Trump so far has enacted a 10% tariff on all global imports, which went into effect on April 5.

His "reciprocal" tariffs initially set to take effect April 9 were paused for 90 days, with the exception of a 145% duty on Chinese imports.

More uncertainty lies ahead too.

This week, Trump set the stage to tariff semiconductors after news of exemptions for tech products: The Commerce Department opened a probe into computer chips under a law that grants the president the ability to impose levies on imports due to national security.

And Trump has promised that most electronics will still get wrapped up in his tariffs, which could hurt Nvidia, Apple, and other Big Tech firms.

"We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations," he posted Sunday.

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