Major U.S. stock indices were all trading down on Friday, in what is seen as a sign of market worries over inflation and volatile trade prospects under the Trump administration.
By the time the markets closed later that day, the Dow had fallen 1.69 percent, the S&P 500 had tumbled 1.97 percent, and the Nasdaq had plunged 2.70 percent, as investors braced for an expected update next week on the White House’s overall tariff strategy.
“When you have a big day like that and everyone's anticipating the worst, what people do is they take risk off, so we're seeing the selling accelerate going into a weekend,” Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, told The Wall Street Journal. “I think the event itself will probably get a rally. It's sell the rumor, buy the news in this case."
The numbers put the market closer to some of its largest ever one-day drops, like the 975-point Dow plunge that came in April 2020 at the outset of the Covid pandemic.
Friday’s market slide came the same day that the Commerce Department released data showing higher-than-predicted inflation in February, which was up 2.8 percent from one year ago by one measure.
Traders are also likely pricing in the coming changes from Donald Trump’s planned 25 percent tariff on imported autos, which are set to take effect on April 3.
Automakers around the world felt the pain on Friday, with GM, Toyota, Tesla, and Mercedes all trading down.
In 2024, the U.S. imported $214 billion worth of passenger cars, roughly half of all cars sold in the country.
The tariffs are not only expected to impact the U.S. market, but could also wreak havoc on America’s major trading partners, like Canada, which employs some 500,000 auto workers.
New prime minister Mark Carney has vowed to impose retaliatory tariffs if the U.S. follows through on its plan.
Trump said Friday he had a “very, very good talk” with Carney.
“We’re going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada and a lot of the other countries,” the president added. “Some probably won’t be so pleasant. I think most countries are agreeing with me.”
The president has also threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on European wine and spirits, a 25 percent tariff on countries using Venezuelan oil, and traded back-and-forth tariffs with China.
Trump has promised that the tariffs will revitalize U.S. manufacturing, and called April start of his new tariffs the “beginning of Liberation Day in America.”
During remarks swearing in Alina Habba as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Trump said he was working with Republican leaders in Congress on a plan to offer tax deductions for Americans who buy cares made in the U.S.
“I’m very proud to say it was my idea,” Trump said.
