President Donald Trump's uncertainty about tariffs rattled Wall Street on Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average over 400 points (over 1%).
On Thursday, Trump suspended tariffs on imports covered by the US-Mexico-Kanda Agreement for a month. Still, the Tech Heavy Nasdaq Composite reduced by 483 points (2.6%), while the S&P 500 index fell by nearly 2%. The NASDAQ is in the correction area. In other words, it has been down 10% since it peaked in December last year.
Tech stocks, including Broadcom, Nvidia and Palantir, saw significant losses as investors were wary of the ongoing uncertainty in the White House tariff policy.
The Trump administration's tariff policy continues to change due to continued delays, exemptions and last-minute adjustments.
The administration implemented tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Tuesday. These include 25% collection on most imports and 10% tariff on Canadian energy products.
In response, Canada is preparing to impose tariffs on approximately $100 billion worth of US goods, urging Trump to threaten additional trade penalties.
Mexico is also developing its own retaliatory measures.
So far, the stock market has fallen by more than 3%. It returns the profits earned shortly after Trump's reelection on November 5th.
A temporary one-month tariff exemption for automakers in compliance with US-Mexico-Canada agreements temporarily lifted the market on Wednesday, but some analysts questioned its long-term impact.
Semiconductor inventory was particularly hit, with Marvell technology down more than 18% after issuing mixed guidance, while other chip makers, including Nvidia and Taiwan semiconductors, also fell.
The economic report raised concerns that Trump's policies could harm the US economy, fearing rising costs due to tariffs and a surge in layoff announcements.
Federal Reserve beige books and other economic data show that uncertainty is rising ahead of Friday's major employment report.
