Wall Street's losing streak extended into Tuesday, with stocks deepening their slump as continued trade war fears rattled investor sentiment.
The Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.6% by midday trading in New York after suffering on Monday its worst single-day drop since September 2022 in the prior session.
The broader S&P 500 slid to a seven-month low, amplifying concerns over the market's near-term trajectory.
The proportion of S&P 500 stocks trading above their 200-day moving average has now shrunk to 44%, the lowest since November 2023. Each sector traded in the red, highlighting broad-based market weakness.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the biggest underperformer on Tuesday, with industrial stocks bearing the brunt of escalating trade tensions.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump escalated trade tensions by raising tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%, responding to Ontario's move to levy a 25% tariff on electricity exports to the U.S.
In a Truth Social post, Trump announced he had instructed the Commerce secretary to enforce the additional 25% tariff, which will take effect Wednesday morning.
On the macroeconomic front, job openings in the U.S. showed unexpected resilience, rising by 232,000 to 7.74 million in January from a downwardly revised 7.51 million in December. The reading exceeded market forecasts of 7.63 million, suggesting positive labor market news despite broader economic jitters.
The U.S. dollar continued its descent, with the dollar index slipping to six-month lows. Treasury yields edged higher ahead of Wednesday's closely watched inflation report for February, signaling that investors were not rushing into safe-haven bonds despite the ongoing market turbulence.
Commodities, meanwhile, found favor as investors sought inflation hedges. Gold advanced 1%, silver surged 2.3% and copper climbed 3%, reflecting renewed demand for tangible assets in a climate of heightened financial instability.
Bitcoin endured a wild session, initially plunging to an intraday low of $76,600 -- its lowest level since Nov. 10, 2024 -- before rebounding to post a 3.9% gain on the day.
Wednesday's Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | Chg % |
| Russell 2000 | 2,011.25 | -0.4% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 19,305.23 | -0.6% |
| S&P 500 | 5,552.25 | -1.1% |
| Dow Jones | 41,296.00 | -1.5% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 1.2% to $553.88.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) fell 1.5% to $413.04.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.6% to $469.56.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) eased 0.7% to $199.32.
- The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) managed to contain losses, yet still down 0.9%; the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) was the worst sector performer, down 1.9%.
Tuesday’s Stock Movers
- Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 3.3% after missing both earnings and revenue estimates last quarter.
- Other stocks reacting to corporate earnings report included: Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG)​, down 4.7%; Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK)​, down 6.4%; DICK‘S Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE:DKS)​, down 5.8% and Ciena Corp. (NYSE:CIEN)​, down 3.6%,
- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares dropped 6.9% after the company acknowledged at a conference that the quarter has been “challenging from a competitive intensity standpoint.” Verizon expects first-quarter postpaid phone gross additions to remain flat or decline slightly compared to the same period last year.
- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) revised its first-quarter earnings-per-share guidance downward to 30 cents to 50 cents from the previous 70 cents–$1 range. The airline also lowered its revenue growth forecast to 3%–4% from the earlier 7%–9% projection. Delta shares fell 8.5%.
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