US open: Stocks mostly lower as Trump doubles steel and aluminium duties
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 11 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - Major indices were mostly in the red early on Tuesday following yesterday's heavy sell-off.
As of 1555 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.77% at 41,589.19, while the S&P 500 lost 0.28% to 5,598.19 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.31% firmer at 17,523.30.
The Dow opened 322.52 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session amid fears that Donald Trump's new tariffs may plunge the US economy into a recession.
Traders continued to be focused on a potential recession at the open, with comments from Donald Trump over the weekend that the US economy was in a "period of transition" weighing heavily on sentiment. While futures were initially slightly higher, stocks headed south in early trading after Trump said steel and aluminium duties would double to 50% on Wednesday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was more than five basis points higher at the open at 4.27% after falling to 4.162% overnight as recessionary concerns sent investors chasing safe havens.
On the macro front, the National Federation of independent Business' small business index revealed that small business sentiment slipped to 100.7 in February, down 2.1 points month-on-month, as owners moved to hike prices amid greater uncertainty surrounding future conditions. 37% of respondents now expect the economy to improve, down 10 points from January, while just 12% said now was a good time to expand, the biggest monthly drop since April 2020, and 32% raised prices, up 10% month-on-month for the largest increase since April 2021 and the third-highest reading ever.
Elsewhere, January's JOLTS report revealed job openings had increased by 232,000 to 7.74m, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from a revised reading of 7.51m in December and ahead of market expectations of 7.63m
In the corporate space, Delta Air Lines slashed its full-year guidance on the back of softened US demand, adding to worries about the state of the world's largest economy, while retailer Dick's Sporting Goods reported its largest sales quarter in company history.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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