Aniket PujariUS stock market ended sharply lower on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 confirming it is in a correction, amid fears for inflation and recession in the world’s largest economy due to the escalating tariff war.
All three major US stock indexes closed lower, as broad selloff in tech and tech-related megacap shares dragged the Nasdaq nearly 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 537.36 points, or 1.30%, to 40,813.57, the S&P 500 lost 77.78 points, or 1.39%, to 5,521.52 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 345.44 points, or 1.96%, to 17,303.01.
Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but utilities ended in negative territory, with communication services and consumer discretionary falling the most.
Intel shares jumped 14.6%, Adobe share price dropped 13.9% while Dollar General shares rallied 6.8%. Tesla stock price declined 3%, Nvidia share price eased 0.14%, Apple shares fell 3.36% and Amazon stock dipped 2.51%.
S&P 500 in Correction
The S&P 500 slipped 10.1% from its February 19 record closing high, confirming the bellwether index has been in a correction since then.
On March 6, the Nasdaq confirmed it is in a correction by closing 10.4% lower than its all-time closing high reached on December 16, Reuters reported. The Dow Jones Transportation index, widely viewed as a barometer of US economic health, closed 18.9% below its November 25 record closing high; dipping 20% or more below that level would confirm the index is in a bear market.
Tariff War
The European Union responded to blanket US tariffs on steel and aluminum by imposing a 50% tax on American whiskey exports, prompting the president to threaten on Truth Social to charge a 200% tariff on imports of European wines and spirits.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of Americans conducted March 11-12 showed that 57% of poll participants believe Trump’s moves to shake up the economy are too erratic, and 53% think the tariff war will do more harm than good.
Treasury Yields
US Treasury yields fell on Thursday as falling stocks boosted demand for safe haven US government debt. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes was down 3.4 basis points at 4.282%. It earlier reached 4.353%, the highest since February 25. The 2-year note yield fell 4.2 bps to 3.953%.
The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes steepened by around one basis point to 33 basis points, Reuters reported.
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