NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) – Kimberly Hilliard, co-founder of a five-year-old travel agency in Maryland, says at this time of year she usually fields up to 10 inquiries a week from clients eager to book vacations, but for much of the past month her phones have gone quiet.

The unusual lull in Hilliard’s business followed a plunge in U.S. share prices in early April, when the major stock indexes recorded their biggest percentage declines since 2020 on fears about the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.