Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange floor on March 3, 2025.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stocks retreated on Monday, extending February’s rout after President Donald Trump’s confirmation of forthcoming tariffs ratcheted up economic concerns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 683 points, or 1.6%, hitting the low of the session amid Trump’s comments. The S&P 500 fell 1.8%. The Nasdaq Composite slid 2.5%, weighed down by Nvidia‘s decline of more than 8%. All three indexes traded higher earlier in the session, with the Dow at one point up nearly 200 points.
“Reciprocal tariffs start on April 2…but very importantly, tomorrow, tariffs, 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico, and that will start,” said Trump alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick from the White House, dashing investors hopes of a last-minute deal to avert the full tariffs on the two U.S. allies.
Dow intraday
A risk-off move ensued with Nvidia shares dropping, along with other one-time popular AI plays like Broadcom.
Stocks set to take a direct hit from the tariffs or retaliation by the targeted countries also fell. GM and Ford hit their lows of the session after Trump’s comments.
“Whether the stock market can survive this change remains to be seen,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, said in a note. “One way or another, tariffs will be a shock for the economy.”
Monday’s sell-off to start March comes after the three major indexes notched losses for February, largely over fear of the impact of tariffs and early signs of a weakening economy. The Dow and S&P 500 each slipped more than 1% in February, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its worst month since April 2024 with a pullback of 4%.
Soft economic data for the manufacturing and construction sectors released Monday offered the latest reasons for worry about the state of the U.S. economy. Those releases kick off a big week for economic data that will be capped by the February jobs report slated for Friday.
