Stocks fell again on Thursday as investors sought more clarity on the latest U.S. tariff measures and their impact on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 530 points lower, or 1%. The S&P 500 was down 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.8%.
U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports took effect this week, rattling financial markets. Canada and China responded with their own retaliatory tariffs, while Mexico said it would announce its own measures over the weekend.
The major averages have each lost at least 3% this week as trade tensions escalate. That's even after the benchmarks got a boost on Wednesday after the White House said it would grant a one-month delay to tariffs on automakers whose vehicles comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The developments fueled traders' hopes that Trump could grant further exemptions. However, some on Wall Street are questioning the effectiveness of the exemptions.
"Exempting automakers for just one month from exorbitant tariffs is like putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound... given the slew of trade/tariff announcements the White House is planning in the coming months," wrote Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge.
The continued weakness of the popular artificial intelligence trade that has powered the market for more than a year also hurt the market on Thursday.
Notably, chipmaker Marvell Technology fell more than 18% after the company issued mixed first-quarter guidance. Other semiconductor makers such as ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia also slumped.
Additionally, a series of recent economic reports have raised concerns that Trump's policies could be hurting the U.S. economy. That comes ahead of Friday's closely watched jobs report.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing readings have indicated concerns about rising input costs due to tariffs. Data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released Thursday showed layoff announcements jumped to the highest level of 2020, which the employment firm said was driven by efforts by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to reduce the federal government workforce. (Newsmaker23)
Source: CNBC
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