Dow sinks, S&P 500 posts worst day of 2025 after Trump forges ahead on tariffs
US stocks plummeted on Monday afternoon, with selling accelerating in the last hour of trading after President Trump indicated there was “no room left” for tariff negotiations with Canada and Mexico, indicating that new levies against both countries will go into effect tomorrow.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.7%, posting its worst day of 2025, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped 2.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell nearly 650 points, or almost 1.5%, as the major US indexes came off a volatile week and a losing February.
Tech led the sell-off, with shares of Nvidia (NVDA) tanking more than 8%. All of the “Magnificent 7” stocks declined.
March trading kicked off with investors encountering more questions than answers amid looming tariffs as US policy makers face the test of disproving investors’ fears about growth. First quarter economic growth is expected to slide following a string of weaker-than-expected economic data.
At close: March 3 at 4:47:47 PM EST
^GSPC ^DJI ^IXIC
Tariffs against Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect on Tuesday after Trump said levies against both countries are “all set, they go into effect tomorrow.”
The week will bring a crucial jobs report and a batch of retail earnings that could feed or ease concerns about an economic downturn and consumer resilience. The February nonfarm-payrolls report on Friday is expected to show modest job growth, with the unemployment rate steady at 4%.
And in retail earnings ahead, results from Target (TGT) on Tuesday and Costco (COST) are in focus for what they reveal about American shoppers. Data last week showed consumer spending unexpectedly fell in January by the most in four years.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies got a boost after Trump said on Sunday that five digital assets — bitcoin (BTC-USD), ether (ETH-USD), XRP (XRP-USD), solana (SOL-USD), and cardano (ADA-USD) — would be included in a new US strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Prices of those tokens on Monday pared some of the sharp gains booked following the post on social media by the president, with bitcoin trading around $86,000.
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