US stocks tumble as Trump’s trade war escalates

New York — Wall Street resumed its slide on Thursday as cool inflation data was overshadowed by fears that the escalating, hydra-headed tariff war being waged by the US against its biggest trading partner could reignite inflation and tip the economy into recession.

A broad sell-off sent all three major US stock indexes sharply lower, with losses in tech and tech-related megacap shares dragging the Nasdaq down most.

The tech-laden index was last down 1.8%.

The S&P 500 is on the verge of closing 10% below its February 19 record closing high, which would confirm the bellwether index has been in a correction since then.

On March 6, the Nasdaq confirmed it is in a correction by closing 10.4% lower than its all-time closing high reached on December 16.

The Dow Jones transportation index, widely viewed as a barometer of US economic health, is now more than 19% below its November 25 record closing high; dipping 20% or more below that level would confirm the index is in a bear market.

“Investors are still in a bearish mindset and picking and choosing their opportunities to sell down portfolios,” said Chuck Carlson, CEO at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.

‘Hard landing’

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty concerning the economy,” Carlson added. “Some of that uncertainty is certainly being driven by tariffs, but there’s other uncertainty out there, and it’s got investors thinking maybe the hard landing is happening after all.”

In the latest episode of Trump’s multi-front trade war, the EU responded to blanket US tariffs on steel and aluminium by imposing a 50% tax on American whiskey exports, prompting the president to threaten on Truth Social to charge a 200% tariff on imports of European wines and spirits.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll of Americans conducted March 11-12 showed that 57% of poll participants believe Trump’s moves to shake up the economy are too erratic, and 53% think the tariff war will do more harm than good.

The labour department’s producer price index (PPI) appeared to echo Wednesday’s CPI data, with cooler-than-expected readings appearing to confirm inflation remains on its meandering path downward as it approaches the US Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target.

This, along with a tame jobless claims report, provided some assurance that, for now, inflation is headed in the right direction and the labour market is on solid footing.

Markets were also eyeing the ongoing wrestling match on Capitol Hill as legislators scramble to pass a stop gap spending bill ahead of a fast-approaching deadline to avert a partial government shutdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 530.21 points, or 1.28%, to 40,820.92, the S&P 500 lost 70.78 points, or 1.26%, to 5,528.52 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 311.56 points, or 1.76%, to 17,337.42.

All 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 were in negative territory, with consumer discretionary and communication services falling the most.

Intel jumped 15.4% after the chipmaker appointed industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO.

Adobe dropped 12.8% after the software company forecast quarterly revenue in line with estimates.

Discount retailer Dollar General reported disappointing same store sales estimates but provided upbeat quarterly results, sending its shares up 4.0%.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.87-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 45 new highs and 255 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 1,116 stocks rose and 3,176 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.85-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 35 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 14 new highs and 261 new lows.

Reuters