Stocks got slammed on Monday as fresh worries about President Trump’s escalating trade war pushed markets lower once again.
Trump on Sunday signaled he plan to impose wide-ranging reciprocal tariffs affecting all countries — contradicting a more selective approach that was signaled by White House officials last week.
“You’d start with all countries,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One late on Sunday — though he added that the tariffs would be more generous than trade partners had been to the US.
The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite recorded the day’s most significant losses, declining more than 2% and reaching its lowest point in half a year.
The broader S&P 500 index lost more than 1% — falling 60 points to hit its lowest level since September — while the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a more modest decline of about 0.4%.
Markets are now poised to close March on a sour note as investors brace for Trump’s upcoming tariff announcement scheduled for April 2 — which the president has dramatically termed “Liberation Day.”
The prospect of an all-out trade war as well as declining consumer and business confidence prompted Goldman Sachs to raise its 12-month recession odds to 35%, up from 20%.
The firm also raised its inflation outlook and now projects three interest-rate cuts in 2025. Goldman trimmed its 2025 GDP growth estimate to 1% and revised its year-end unemployment forecast to 4.5%.
It also lifted its year-end inflation forecast to 3.5%, based on annual gains in the core personal-consumption-expenditures (PCE) price index, a metric the Fed closely watches.
Other Wall Street analysts are issuing similar warnings. Earlier this month, economists at JPMorgan assigned a 40% chance of a recession.
Leading technology companies were especially hard-hit on Monday.
Shares of Nvidia, the maker of chips used to power artificial intelligence, tumbled more than 5% during the early session while Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric car maker whose stock hit record highs of more than $430 per share following the Nov. 5 election, saw declines exceeding 5%.
As of 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, shares of Tesla were trading at around $246 a share — down more than 40% from its record high in mid-December.
Additionally, Meta Platforms and Amazon shares each dropped over 3% amid mounting trade fears.
Amid rising volatility and uncertainty in equities, investors sought refuge in safer assets like gold.
Consequently, gold prices surged past the significant $3,100 per ounce threshold for the first time, trading around $3,147, driven by heightened demand for risk-off investments.
The previous week marked the fifth decline in the past six weeks for both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
Markets remain vigilant, closely scrutinizing economic data to gauge potential vulnerabilities.
Recent fears intensified following unexpectedly strong figures in core PCE inflation, a key indicator closely watched by the Federal Reserve.
Investors are now turning their attention to critical upcoming data releases, including the March jobs report due this Friday, along with figures on private payrolls and job openings.
Wall Street looks to use the data in hopes of gaining further clarity on economic trends and resilience.
