US close: Tariff uncertainty hammers stocks, S&P 500 hits four-month low
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 06 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - Continuous fluctuations in America's trade policies continued to disrupt financial markets on Thursday with US stocks once again falling sharply as ongoing uncertainty hammered risk appetite.
"There wasn't any bad news to cause a minor sell-off, it's just one of those days where investors reassessed their portfolios given the uncertain economic and geopolitical backdrop," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
The Dow fell 1% to 42,579.08, pulling back after a solid rise on Wednesday, with the index now having lost almost 5% of its value over the past two weeks alone.
The S&P 500 sank 1.8% to 5,738.52, finishing below the 5,800 mark for the first time since early-November. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, tanked 2.6% to 18,069.26 as tech stocks were sold off, pushing the index to its lowest close since early-October.
"American shares are having a mare of a time in 2025 as Donald Trump's tariff plan leaves more questions than answers, clouding the outlook for the US economy," Coatsworth said.
In the latest tariff-related news, Donald Trump has delayed his proposed 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada that comply with the USMCA trade agreement. According to reports, that accounts for roughly half of Mexico's exports to the US, and 37% of Canada's. The suspension will run until 2 April.
Tech and financial stocks drop
Netflix, Western Digital, Seagate Technology, Broadcom and Nvidia were among the worst performers on the Nasdaq due to a rout in the tech sector.
Netflix, in particular, was falling heavily after analysts at MoffettNathanson Research suggested that the streaming service's "password-sharing crackdown" would begin to eat into subscriber numbers after a few more quarters of strong figures.
Financial stocks also suffered from a decline in risk appetite as investors fretted about how protectionist trade measures would affect the global economic outlook. Goldman Sachs, American Express, Visa and JPMorgan Chase & Co were among the Dow's heaviest fallers.
Meanwhile, lingerie group Victoria's Secret was in the red after revealing Q1 revenues would fall short of analyst expectations, while retailer Macy's posted better-than-expected quarterly figures but issued downbeat sales and profit guidance for FY25 as a whole.
Economic data takes back seat
Challenger Gray and Christmas revealed job cuts had surged to an almost five-year high last month, up from 49,795 in January to 172,017 in February, due to the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as cancelled government contracts, trade war fears, and bankruptcies.
Seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims fell by 21,000 over the week ended 1 March to 221,000, according to the Department of Labor, falling short of consensus estimates for an increase of 235,000. Of particular interest, the number of federal government workers filling first-time claims rose by 1,634, against a 614 rise over the previous week.
Meanwhile, wholesale inventories increased 0.8% month-on-month to $906.2bn in January, according to the Census Bureau, slightly higher than advance estimates of 0.7% and following December's revised 0.4% fall.
Lastly, America's shortfall on trade with the rest of the world ballooned at the start of 2025, as companies and individuals tried to front run the imposition of new trade tariffs. According to the Department of Commerce, the total trade deficit in goods and services widened by 34.0% to $131.4bn in January. That was well ahead of the -$127.4bn shortfall that the consensus had anticipated.
Dow Jones - Risers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.23 3.24%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $487.72 2.47%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $317.82 2.12%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $152.95 1.42%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $396.89 1.34%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $310.33 0.95%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $93.95 0.87%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $341.01 0.74%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $70.46 0.54%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $165.70 0.43%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $566.60 -4.28%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.38 -3.55%
American Express Co. (AXP) $275.34 -3.01%
Boeing Co. (BA) $158.47 -2.90%
Visa Inc. (V) $344.16 -2.42%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.60 -2.39%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $286.06 -2.03%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $246.02 -1.98%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $94.64 -1.40%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $381.62 -1.20%
S&P 500 - Risers
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $106.89 5.75%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $48.04 4.93%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $77.85 4.82%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $78.60 4.06%
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY) $183.51 4.06%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $72.96 3.92%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $62.58 3.82%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $147.37 3.75%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $134.02 3.55%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $382.94 3.54%
S&P 500 - Fallers
VF Corp. (VFC) $20.56 -12.32%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $91.16 -7.67%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $906.36 -6.95%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $215.54 -6.82%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $20.87 -6.58%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $150.94 -6.57%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $82.76 -6.25%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.45 -6.20%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $62.20 -6.18%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $19.99 -6.10%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $106.89 5.75%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $77.85 4.82%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $63.52 4.19%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $43.92 3.98%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $72.96 3.92%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $93.39 3.81%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $147.37 3.75%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $382.94 3.54%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $69.10 3.40%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $698.44 3.32%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $906.36 -6.95%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.45 -6.20%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $86.64 -5.98%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.26 -5.82%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $105.47 -5.68%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $179.45 -5.60%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $110.57 -4.60%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $4,695.97 -4.07%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $262.63 -3.41%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $263.45 -3.38%
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