Wall Street: US stocks end lower on tariff uncertainty

Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, extending a turbulent period of losses as uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies continued to shake investor confidence.

Trump said late in the afternoon that he would “probably” reconsider doubling planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, just hours after announcing a sharp hike. The back-and-forth on tariff measures against some of the United States’ closest trading partners has rattled markets, compounding fears of an economic slowdown.

“The volatility is nothing new to us over the course of the last three weeks,” said Art Hogan of B Riley Wealth Management. He noted that market swings have been “largely driven by the uncertainty around things like tariffs.” However, he also pointed out that Tuesday marked a potential shift, saying, “For the first time in three weeks, it appears as though we might be getting a little bit of good news… there might be a window cracked open in the negotiations with Canada on tariffs.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, closing at 41,433.48. The S&P 500 slid 0.8% to 5,572.07, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.2% to 17,436.10. The downturn followed Monday’s significant plunge, which saw the Nasdaq suffer its worst single-day loss since 2022.

Since taking office, Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, though he has at times walked back some levies on key trading partners.

“Certainly, the longer this uncertainty persists, the more investors are willing to take money off the table and de-risk their portfolios,” Hogan added.

Despite the general market decline, the Nasdaq found some support from major tech stocks. Tesla rebounded 3.8% following Trump’s announcement that he would purchase one of the company’s vehicles, while AI chipmaker Nvidia climbed 1.7% after suffering steep losses on Monday.

Markets in freefall before partial recovery

Tuesday’s losses deepened fears that Wall Street could be heading into a correction phase. At one point during the session, the S&P 500 briefly fell more than 10% below its record high from last month, a level that professional investors define as a correction.

The S&P 500 ultimately fell 0.8% but fluctuated throughout the day, at one stage dropping as much as 1.5%. The Dow lost 478 points, while the Nasdaq hovered in and out of positive territory before ending with a 0.2% loss.

(With inputs from agencies)

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