US markets close modestly lower amid fears of tariffs on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors

16 Apr 2025 Evaluate

The US markets, after jumping back and forth across the unchanged line, closed slightly lower on Tuesday. The choppy trade prevailed over the course of trading day as traders took a cautious approach to digest the latest earnings news as well as recent development in tariffs. Optimism raised among markets participants after President Trump indicated a potential temporary tariff exemption for the auto industry, especially for counties like Mexico and Canada, which uplifted the trading sentiments. However, there were reports that the U.S. was kicking off investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs that seems to have made investors nervous. Meanwhile, traders also took note of report released by Labor Department showing import prices edged slightly lower in the month of March. The Labor Department indicated that the import prices slipped by 0.1 percent in March after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in February, while the street had expected import prices to come in unchanged compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. 

On sectoral front, while most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, banking stocks saw notable strength, resulting in a 1.7 percent gain by the KBW Bank Index. Networking stocks also saw some strength on the day, while transportation stocks moved to the downside, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down by 1.1 percent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 155.83 points or 0.38 percent to 40,368.96, Nasdaq edged down 8.32 points or 0.05 percent to 16,823.17 and S&P 500 dipped 9.34 points or 0.17 percent to 5,396.63.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×