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Stocks resumed pulling back on Thursday as investors sought out more clarity on President Donald Trump’s latest U.S. tariff measures and their impacts on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials faltered 190.69 points to 42,815.90,
The S&P 500 index settled 44.26 points to 5,798.37.
The NASDAQ Composite backpedaled 171.11 points to 18,381.62.
The major averages have each lost more than 2% this week as U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports took effect. Canada and China responded with retaliatory levies of its own, while Mexico said it would unveil measures over the weekend.
Stocks resumed tumbling on Thursday after getting a boost in the prior session. The White House said Wednesday that it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Notably, chipmaker Marvell Technology dropped more than 18% after the company issued mixed first-quarter guidance.
Other semiconductor builders such as ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia also slid.
On top of that, a string of recent economic reports raised alarm that Trump’s policies could hinder the U.S. economy. Those came ahead of Friday’s closely watched jobs report.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that one-month exemptions for more than just carmakers would be likely. Lutnick also said that Mexico and Canada could only face reciprocal tariffs planned by Trump in April if the countries make enough progress on stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Stocks came off lows in Thursday’s session following Lutnick’s comments.
These developments fueled traders’ hopes that Trump could provide further exemptions, in turn mitigating economic damage from the levies. But some on Wall Street questioned the effectiveness of this type of short-term exception.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury edged lower, lifting yields to 4.34% from Wednesday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 16 cents to $66.15 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold declined $4.90 an ounce to $2,921.70 U.S.
