Stocks resumed their steep pullback on Thursday as the latest concessions from the White House on President Donald Trump's controversial tariff policies failed to calm rattled investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 427.51 points lower, or 0.99%, to 42,579.08, after falling more than 600 points at session lows. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.78% to 5,738.52. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.61% to 18,069.26, officially closing in correction territory, which is when an index falls 10% from a recent high.

Thursday's declines come as U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports have rocked financial markets after taking effect this week. Canada and China each responded with retaliatory levies of their own, while Mexico said it would unveil measures over the weekend. The Nasdaq has dropped more than 4% week to date, while the Dow and S&P 500 have slid around 2.9% and 3.6%, respectively. All three are on pace for their worst week since September 2024.
Thursday brought a return to selling after the White House's announcement of a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers that sell cars that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement spurred a recovery rally on Wednesday. That gave hope to investors expecting the levies to be further walked back, in turn mitigating the expected hit to the U.S. economy.

Trump on Thursday announced that more Canadian and Mexican goods made in accordance with the USMCA agreement would receive a one-month extension on the taxes. But that news did not deliver the same upward momentum in the market seen in the prior session as uncertainty around the policy swirled.

Concerns mounted on Thursday afternoon after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued in favor of tariffs, leaving investors questioning how far the White House would be willing to go in making compromises on the embattled policy over the long term. Investors appeared fatigued by the barrage of statements from administration members and changes to tariff policy in recent days.
"To the extent that another country's practices harm our own economy and people, the United States will respond," Bessent said during an Economic Club of New York event. "This is the America-first trade policy."

Bessent also described Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a "numbskull," while saying the administration was focused more on Main Street than Wall Street. The S&P 500 hit its lowest point since early November in the session.

"You're just having confusion," said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist. "That confusion is permeating into the day-to-day swings of the market.

Source: CNBC