The U.S. stock market has lost $5 trillion in value over the last three weeks due to upcoming tariffs threatened by the Trump administration and rising inflation, leaving many Americans worried about their investments.

Key Takeaways The S&P 500 is off to its worst start for a presidential term since 2009, when Barack Obama entered the White House in the midst of the global financial crisis.Traditionally defensive sectors have outperformed since Trump's inauguration amid growing concern that tariffs could usher in a period of stagflation.