Wall Street took another hit on Thursday rattled by a fresh wave of sell offs rattled. The US market, which was already on the edge over US tariffs and economic uncertainty, suffered massive lows as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 427 points (1 per cent) to 42,579.08, while the Nasdaq fell 483.48 points to 18,069.26, 2.6 per cent down at the end of the day.
The S&P 500 index slid 1.8 per cent or 104.11 points to 5,738.52, resuming its recent downturn after a brief recovery spell the previous day.
Stocks kept falling despite US President Donald Trump’s decision to delay the 25 per cent tariff on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese imports for one month. Investors found little relief, though concerns persisted over whether Trump is using tariffs as a negotiation strategy or if an extended trade war is unavoidable.
Despite hopes for a softer stance, Trump is still pressing ahead with additional tariffs set to take effect on 2nd April. The constant back-and-forth tariff imposition has also fuelled the market uncertainty as earlier.
Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management said, “These exemptions don’t do much to resolve the general air of uncertainty.” He further added that businesses will continue to opt for a cautious stance in the current scenario until the tariff picture is clear.
US firms are already struggling with the instability, while consumers brace for rising prices.
All eyes are now on the US jobs report, a key indicator of economic health. So far, strong hiring and consumer spending have helped prevent a recession, and economists expected hiring to ramp up in February.
However, some major retailers are flashing warning signs. Macy’s reported lower-than-expected revenue for the end of 2024, despite profits beating forecasts. It also issued a weaker profit outlook for 2025, sending its shares down 0.7 per cent.
Victoria’s Secret followed a similar path, beating Q4 estimates but forecasting disappointing revenue for the year ahead, which caused its stock to plunge 8.2 per cent.
Some of Wall Street’s biggest tech firms are also falling.
Chipmakers, which soared in recent years due to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, also took a heavy hit. Marvell Technology fell almost 20 per cent despite recording better-than-expected earnings and predicting over 60 per cent revenue growth this quarter. Even Nvidia, the face of the AI revolution, fell 5.7 per cent, while Broadcom slid 6.3 per cent ahead of its earnings release.
These firms are also facing increasing competition with Chinese companies ramping up their own AI development.
European markets showed mixed results after the European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected. Germany’s DAX rose 1.5 per cent, while shares across Asia also gained, including a 3.3 per cent jump in Hong Kong and a 1.2 per cent rise in Shanghai.
In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield edged up slightly to 4.29 per cent from 4.28 per cent on Wednesday.