A jittery Wall Street rides the tariff roller coaster and appears headed
for big losses on Thursday
[April 03, 2025] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks whipped through another dizzying day of
trading, but the mood on Wall Street turned sour after President Donald
Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs against nearly all U.S. trading
partners, an action that could drastically remake the global economy.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% in regular trading Wednesday. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 235 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite
climbed 0.9%. But futures trading showed all three indexes heading for
sharp declines in Thursday trading, with the S&P 500 down 3.6% and the
Nasdaq indicated lower by 4.5%.
Financial markets around the world have been shaky lately because of
uncertainty about Trump’s trade war. He has said he wants tariffs to
make the global system more fair and to bring manufacturing jobs back to
the United States from other countries. But tariffs also threaten to
grind down growth for the U.S. and other economies, while worsening
inflation when it may be stuck above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
One of the hopes that helped push the U.S. stock market higher this week
was the possibility that at least the worst of the uncertainty around
tariffs may be passing. Those hopes appear to have been dashed by Trump
after the market closed Wednesday, when he declared a 10% baseline tax
on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of
nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.
The president held up a chart while speaking at the White House, showing
the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20%
tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan
and 32% on Taiwan. The new tariffs will come on top of recent
announcements of 25% taxes on auto imports; levies against China, Canada
and Mexico; and expanded trade penalties on steel and aluminum.
Among the companies whose shares fell in after-hours trading, Lululemon
was 11%; home products retailer Williams-Sonoma was down 10%; and
Deckers Outdoor, the maker of Uggs, was lower by 9%.
Big Tech stocks also fell after the bell. Apple shares dropped 7.4%,
Amazon fell 6.1% and Nvidia dropped 5.2%.
Tesla shares fell 7.3% in after-hours trading. Elon Musk’s electric
vehicle company swung wildly in regular trading, falling in the morning
more than 6% following a report that it delivered fewer electric
vehicles in the first three months of the year than it did in last
year’s first quarter, partly due to backlash against Musk's cost-cutting
efforts for the Trump administration. But its stock rebounded and ended
with a gain of 5.3% following a report from Politico that Trump has told
others that Musk will step back from his government role in coming
weeks.
[to top of second column] |
The exterior of the New York Stock Exchange is seen shortly after
the close of the market, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick
Sison)
 A few stocks did rise after-hours.
The railroad operator Norfolk Southern rose 4.7% and spice maker
McCormick & Co. gained 2.6%.
Even before Trump formally announced the details of the tariffs, the
market had been worried that the herky-jerky rollout could by itself
create enough nervousness to get U.S. households and businesses to
freeze their spending, which would damage the economy.
Surveys have shown deepening pessimism, but economists are waiting
to see if that translates into actual damage for the economy. A
report on Wednesday suggested the U.S. job market may still be
running stronger than expected.
The report from ADP Research said employers, excluding the
government, accelerated their hiring last month by more than
economists estimated. It could be an encouraging signal for the more
comprehensive jobs report coming Friday from the U.S. government.
Economists expect that to show overall hiring slowed in March from
February.
The job market has been one of the linchpins keeping the U.S.
economy out of a recession.
Treasury yields swung in the bond market, echoing the indecision
seen in the stock market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to
4.12% from 4.18% earlier.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 37.90 points to 5,670.97 in the regular
trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 235.36 to
42,225.32, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 151.16 to 17,601.05.
___
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
