Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 4, 2025.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Stocks were under pressure Thursday as investors sought out more clarity on the latest U.S. tariff measures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 485 points lower, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 shed 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1.8%.
U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports took effect this week, rocking financial markets. Canada and China responded with retaliatory levies of its own, while Mexico said it would unveil measures over the weekend.
The major averages have lost more than 1% this week as trade tensions escalate. But the benchmarks got a boost Wednesday after the White House said it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
This development fueled traders’ hopes that Trump could provide further exemptions. Yet some on Wall Street questioned the effectiveness of these exceptions.
“Exempting auto makers for just one month from draconian tariffs is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound … given the torrent of trade/tariff announcements planned by the White House in the coming months,” Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge wrote.
A continued unwind of the popular artificial intelligence trade that has boosted the market for more than a year also hurt Thursday’s premarket.
Notably, chipmaker Marvell Technology dropped more than 19% after the company issued mixed first-quarter guidance. Other semiconductor builders such as ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia also slid.
On top of that, a string of recent economic reports raised alarm that Trump’s policies could hinder the U.S. economy. Those came ahead of Friday’s closely watched jobs report.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing reading both indicated fear of rising input costs because of the tariffs. Data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released Thursday showed layoff announcements soared to 2020 highs, which the outplacement firm found was driven by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government’s workforce.
