The stock market sank after Thursday's opening bell amid growing fears about potential damage that President Trump's new tariffs could weaken the economy.
All three major indices began trading at a loss of more than 1% on Thursday and gave up profits from short market rebounds on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell by more than 470 points shortly after the market opened, losing 1.3%. The S&P 500 index fell by 1.5%, while the Nasdaq composite fell by 1.7%.
Wall Street has been worried for days about the impact of Trump's new 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican products. The shares recovered after the White House announced Wednesday that it would exempt North American car companies from tariffs for a month, but the narrow exemption did little to ease widespread concerns.
The US economy has already shown signs of slow growth and stubborn inflation as businesses and consumers have supported higher costs from import taxes since its launch in 2025.
The stock slump follows news that the number of job cuts in February has been the highest since 2009, according to a report released Thursday morning by employer challengers Grayger, Gray & Christmas.
Employers announced most of February since 2009, when 186,350 jobs were cut. Total employment cuts in February this year are more than twice the 84,638 cuts announced in February 2024.
