Stocks slipped further on Thursday as market participants weighed President Donald Trump's new tariffs on foreign automakers with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding his roll out of broad reciprocal duties on April 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 150 points, while the S&P 500 declined 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost more than 0.5%.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Shares of automakers including General Motors
Trump heightened that uncertainty further on Thursday, threatening to impose "far larger" tariffs on the European Union and Canada if they collaborate on a trade war against the United States.
"If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social social media platform on Thursday.
Still, the U.S. Economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate in the final three months of 2024, according to the Commerce Department's final estimate issued Thursday. Gross domestic product accelerated at a 2.4% pace from October through December, coming in 0.2 percentage points ahead of the previous estimate as an upward revision in consumer spending boosted headline growth.
UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer Mark Haefele wrote in a note to clients on Thursday that market participants should not pull out of stocks despite the market's current volatility.
"Our core message remains to stay invested in stocks. We expect a period of further stock market volatility in April. In the coming weeks, we would view levels in the S&P 500 starting at a peak-to-trough drawdown of -10% as a potential buying opportunity," Haefele wrote. "Investors should ensure portfolios are well diversified with assets such as quality bonds, gold, and alternatives to effectively navigate current challenges."