U.S. stocks dropped Tuesday after a second day of stunning reversals brought on by tariff unease.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6 per cent Tuesday after wiping out an early gain of 4.1 per cent, which had it on track for its best day in years. That brought the index nearly 19 per cent below its record set in February.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 320 points, or 0.8 per cent, after giving up an earlier surge of 1,460, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.1 per cent.
The S&P/TSX composite index was also down more than 1.5 per cent as markets closed.
After stocks tumbled at their fastest pace since the pandemic in the last three days, investors showed some signs of hope early in the day that U.S. President Donald Trump would soften his stance or postpone an April 9 deadline for tariffs.
But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday afternoon that Trump expects tariffs will go into effect while nearly 70 countries have reached out looking to begin negotiations to reduce the impact of U.S. trade policies.
The latest set of tariffs, including a cumulative 104 per cent levy on Chinese imports, are scheduled to kick in after midnight ET.
As tariff uncertainty roils the global stock markets, some Canadians are concerned about their investments. Financial counsellor Jessica Moorhouse joins Hanomansing Tonight to address some viewer concerns and questions.
Market participants “were optimistic this morning that we would get some sort of sign that we’re moving closer to a deal
or a compromise with some of these bigger countries or that there would be a delay coming given that so many people wanted to negotiate,” said Lindsey Bell, chief market strategist at Clearnomics in New York.
“That doesn’t seem to necessarily be the case as we are quickly approaching the midnight deadline and investors are losing confidence.”
In the bond market, Treasury yields mostly rose for a second straight day to recover more of their sharp losses from prior months. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23 per cent from 4.15 per cent late Monday and from just 4.01 per cent late Friday.
Companies with vast supply chains around the world helped lead the losses. Ralph Lauren sank 6.8 per cent, for example. It sourced about 15 per cent of its products from China last fiscal year.
Best Buy’s stocks fell 9.4 per cent. Best Buy doesn’t import many products directly from China, but the electronics industry in general depends heavily on the country, and the company estimates vendor imports from China make up about 55 per cent of the products it purchases.
World markets get some reprieve
While fragility remains, world markets saw some reprieve on Tuesday after three days of heavy selling.
In Europe, shares rose from 14-month lows, with Paris seeing a 2.5 per cent gain.
The European Commission — set to face…
Read More: North American stocks rise, then drop again after another day of tariff