Stocks dipped on Wednesday, led lower by tech, as pressure on the tariff front mounted.

The S&P 500 lost 1.12% and ended at 5,712.20, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 132.71 points, or 0.31%, to close at 42,454.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 2.04% and closed at 17,899.01, as Nvidia shares dropped nearly 6%.

Major tech names such as Meta Platforms and Amazon dropped more than 2%, while Alphabet lost more than 3%. Tesla slid more than 5%.

Stocks hit session lows after the White House said that President Donald Trump will unveil new tariffs on auto imports during a press conference at 4 p.m. ET. General Motors and Stellantis each tumbled more than 3%.

The action came ahead of a broad array of additional levies expected to be revealed next week. Trump on Tuesday said that these tariffs will likely be more "lenient than reciprocal," reflecting a softened stance that added onto reports from earlier this week that the duties could be more narrow in scope and that sector-specific tariffs are expected to be delayed.

"Whenever the President tosses out a trade tidbit, the markets either rejoice or retreat," said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research chief investment strategist. "Due to the President's plan to announce additional tariffs on autos, the defensive/safe haven consumer staples and utilities groups are once again in the lead. This rotation is likely to continue at least until April 2 when the reciprocal tariffs go into effect, and possible even longer should the President make ongoing adjustments to the tariffs."

Worries over the impact of protectionist trade policies have weighed on equities recently. The S&P 500 dipped into correction territory earlier this month, briefly dipping more than 10% from a record high set in February.

Wall Street is coming off a winning session, with the S&P 500 on Tuesday posting its third straight advance.

Source: CNBC