The broader market fell on Wednesday as the tech sector pulled back from its recent gains due to looming uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff policies. The S&P 500 Index declined about 1.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost over 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell over 100 points as investors reacted to new tariffs on foreign autos.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
President Donald Trump told Newsmax in an interview on Tuesday that the tariffs under his April 2 deadline will likely be more "lenient than reciprocal," offering a positive note to the back-and-forth mixed messages regarding the levies from the Trump administration.
"I'll probably be more lenient than reciprocal, because if I was reciprocal, that would be very tough for people," Trump said. "I know there are some exceptions, and it's an ongoing discussion, but not too many, not too many exceptions."
Investors widely fear a more severe trade policy will impact consumer and business confidence further, with the former falling to a 12-year low, according to The Conference Board's report on Tuesday, as consumer expectations on future business, income and labor conditions weaken.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on "all cars that are not made in the United States," effective April 2. Trump added that there is "absolutely no tariff" for cars built in the U.S., sending shares of General Motors
Trump's announcement comes ahead of what he has called, "Liberation Day," on April 2, where he is expected to issued broad levies on any country that has their own duties on American imports. Concerns over further retaliatory actions from global trading partners has weighed on the broader market in recent weeks as investors are left with little direction on what the extent of Trump's trade policies and their total impact will be.
"Due to the President's plan to announce additional tariffs on autos, the defensive/safe haven consumer staples and utilities groups are once again in the lead," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, in a note. "This rotation is likely to continue at least until April 2 when the reciprocal tariffs go into effect, and possible even longer should the President make ongoing adjustments to the tariffs."
Barclays Strategist Venu Krishna lowered the firm's 2025 S&P 500 outlook to 5,900 from 6,000 on Wednesday, citing concerns that increased U.S. tariffs on major trading partners could lead to a broad economic slowdown.
"Our earlier base case did not include a direct impact of tariffs," Krishna told CNBC on Wednesday. "But now, our hand is forced. And at least for the foreseeable future, I think it would be foolhardy not to take that seriously."
