Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 26, 2025.
NYSE
The S&P 500 clawed back earlier losses on Monday to trade slightly higher, as traders nervously looked ahead to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
The broad market index was last up 0.5% after falling as much as 1.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average add439289 points, or 1%. Earlier in the day, the S&P 500 traded 10% below its record.
Tech giants Nvidia and Meta Platforms fell 3% and 1%, respectively. Tesla also lost 3%. Tech stocks have struggled to recapture their meteoric rise from last year that was spurred by rising artificial intelligence sentiment. AI darling Nvidia, for example, is now more than 30% off of its 52-week high. Investors seeking safety were pushing some Dow components like Coca-Cola and Walmart higher.
Trump said Sunday that his plan for “reciprocal tariffs” — expected to be unveiled Wednesday — will target “all countries,” rejecting the notion that the upcoming levies will be narrower and more targeted. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported the president had in recent days pushed his advisors to get more aggressive when it comes to tariffs.
“We continue to trade with the backdrop of tariff uncertainty and a shroud of secrecy about what may come next,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “As a result, investors sell first and wait. It has all the makings of a panic sell-off where a snap back rally on the horizon.”
Trump’s rhetoric as “liberation day” approaches has culminated in a renewed sense of worry that the tariffs will significantly slow the economy, and could perhaps even be a catalyst for a recession. Economists polled in the CNBC Rapid Update survey points to first-quarter economic expansion of just 0.3%, well below the 2.3% growth seen in the fourth quarter.
“[I]t’s time for reciprocity, and it’s time for a president to take historic change to do what’s right for the American people, and that’s going to take place on Wednesday,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
The broad market index is more than 9% below a record set in February. It also hit its lowest level since September on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also reached levels not seen since September and is 15% below its all-time high set in December.
SPX 1-year chart
Monday marks the final day of what has been a tumultuous month and quarter for Wall Street. The S&P 500 dipped into correction territory in March after hitting a record in February.
The S&P 500 is down 6.3% for the month, on pace for its biggest one-month slide since September 2022, when it dropped 9.3%. The Nasdaq has lost 8% in March, while the Dow has fallen 5%.
For the quarter, the S&P 500 was down 5%. That puts it on pace to snap a five-quarter winning streak. The Nasdaq has lost 10.9% this quarter, which would mark its biggest quarterly pullback since a 22.4% plunge in the second quarter of 2022. The Dow has shed 1.6% in the first three months of 2025.
