US markets witness selling pressure amid Tariff uncertainty

07 Mar 2025 Evaluate

The US markets ended deep in red, as ongoing concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China led traders to cash in on Wednesday's strong gains. While Trump's decision to grant a one-month tariff exemption for automakers contributed to a turnaround on Wednesday, uncertainty about further exemptions weighed on Wall Street. Sentiments remained down beat with the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended March 1st. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 221,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000. Street had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000. On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of February. The Commerce Department also released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of January. The report said the trade deficit surged to a record high $131.4 billion in January from a revised $98.1 billion in December. Streat had expected the trade deficit to jump to $123.0 billion from the $98.4 billion originally reported for the previous month.

On sectorial front, Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 4.5 percent to its lowest closing level in seven months. Substantial weakness was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.6 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Computer hardware stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down to its lowest closing level in a month. 

Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 427.51 points or 0.99 percent to 42,579.08, Nasdaq slipped 483.48 points or 2.61 percent to 18,069.26 and S&P 500 was down by 104.11 points or 1.78 percent to 5,738.52.

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