(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders continued to navigate intense, quick and sharp market swings amid a slew of tariff headlines, with stocks getting pummeled after almost wiping out their losses.
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The S&P 500 slid 1.8% and the Nasdaq 100 sank 2.8%, with the tech-heavy gauge on the brink of a technical correction. Sentiment was so fragile that equities failed to stage a rebound even after President Donald Trump’s decision to delay levies on Mexican and Canadian goods covered by the North American trade deal. The dollar saw its longest losing streak since September, while the peso and the loonie rose. Treasury trading was fairly muted.
The new chapter on the trade war was unveiled days after the US announced its largest tariff increase in a century. Trump argued that foreign countries are “ripping us off” and that tariffs would put the US on a stronger footing. When asked for his thoughts on the stock selloff, he told reporters that “it’s globalists who see how rich our country is going to be and they don’t like it.”
“Volatility seems like the only certainty as policies are implemented, challenged, modified, then often re-implemented,” said Chris Low at FHN Financial.
A slide in tech shares dragged down the market, with Nvidia Corp. leading losses in megacaps. In late hours, Broadcom Inc. gave an upbeat revenue forecast, reassuring investors that spending on artificial-intelligence computing remains healthy. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. issued a weak profit outlook and announced plans to eliminate about 3,000 jobs.
Just 24 hours ahead of the US payrolls report, data showed jobless claims fell, offering some relief after other figures pointed to a worsening labor-market. The employment print is expected to show a pick in job growth.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that tariff hikes will ignite a new wave of inflation. Separately, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller repeated his assessment that the impact on prices from tariffs likely won’t be significant. While he wouldn’t support lowering rates in March, Waller sees room to cut two, or possibly three, times this year.
The S&P 500 hovered near its closely watched 200-day moving average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%. A gauge of the Magnificent Seven megacaps sank 2.9%. The Russell 2000 slid 1.6%.
