Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 19, 2025.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. stocks fell Friday morning, putting the S&P 500 on pace to extend its monthlong rout caused by trade policy turmoil, recession fears and a rollover in megacap technology shares.
The S&P 500 shed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 412 points, or about 1%.
Friday’s session is likely to be volatile, with options expiring and President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff deadline looming over the market.
The S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.4% fall week to date, putting it on track for a five-week losing streak. The benchmark briefly fell into correction territory at one point during the monthlong rout. It sits more than 8% from its record high, short of the 10% correction level, as it tried to mount a comeback from the turmoil.
The bulk of the market’s gains came on Wednesday when Federal Reserve policymakers kept their forecast for two rate cuts this year.
Tariff worries are also weighing on companies, according to Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management.
“Companies are increasingly citing confusion and uncertainty around their planning and capital spending and hiring decisions — and when they pause, it means that they’re slowing down,” he said. “There’s an element of that playing out in the markets.”
FedEx was hurting sentiment, with shares of the bellwether transportation company down 11%. FedEx cut its earnings outlook, citing “weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy.”
Nike shares were off by 8% after the shoe and apparel giant said sales this quarter would miss analysts’ expectations because of tariffs and falling consumer confidence. The retailer’s comments were having knock-on effects within the sector, as shares of Foot Locker slipped more than 1% and rival Under Armour fell more than 2%.
The Dow is on track for a 0.2% gain this week. The Nasdaq, however, is off about 1% in the period, heading for its fifth straight losing week and its longest stretch of weekly losses since May 2022.
