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US stocks tanked to session lows on Thursday after more tariff whiplash from the Trump administration.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 1%, or over 400 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped nearly 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) plummeted more than 2.6%. The Nasdaq is now more than 10% off its December record high and officially entered into correction territory.
Trade-war uncertainty has persisted as investors weighed how far President Donald Trump would be willing to negotiate on tariffs. On Thursday, Trump said he would pause tariffs on some Mexican goods, and the White House later said the delay also includes goods from Canada.
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The moves Thursday came a day after the Trump administration announced a one-month pause on Mexico and Canada duties for automakers.
Meanwhile, tech remains leading the retreat after Marvell’s (MRVL) quarterly sales forecast disappointed investors expecting a bigger AI payoff. Its shares sank almost 19%, as fellow chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), and AMD (AMD) also lost ground.
Read more: Trump said to be eyeing agricultural exemptions after pausing auto tariffs
Investors assessed weekly jobless claims data released on Thursday morning showing 221,000 initial claims, down from last week and economist expectations. A recent run of soft economic data has spurred concerns that US economic growth is stalling, reviving the specter of stagflation. The report leads in to the all-important jobs report, set for release Friday morning.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 19 updates
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Broadcom stock rallies after better-than-expected forecast
Broadcom (AVGO) shares rallied roughly 10% in post-market trading after the company posted better-than-expected financial results for the prior quarter and guided for stronger sales than Wall Street expected in the current quarter.
Broadcom posted revenue of $14.92 billion in the first quarter on adjusted earnings per share of $1.60. Wall Street had expected revenue of $14.61 billion on earnings per share of $1.50. For the second quarter, Broadcom expects revenue of $14.9 billion, above analyst expectations for $14.59 billion.
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Gap tops fourth quarter estimates and signals it could beat Trump tariffs
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi reports:
Gap (GAP) may be the lone retailer this spring to stand up to the dual headwinds of a tariff-wielding president and a prickly Mother Nature.
The company on Thursday bucked the trend of ugly retailer earnings this week, beating profit estimates and signaling a respectable year ahead. Gap’s full-year outlook was generally in line with consensus forecasts despite tariff impact in the key sourcing region of China.
“Looking ahead, 2025 represents an exciting step in our ongoing transformation as we continue to drive toward becoming a high performing house of iconic American brands that delivers long-term value for our shareholders,” Gap CEO Richard Dickson said in a statement.
Gap shares rose about 8% in post-market trading. Read more here.
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The Nasdaq has entered a correction
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is now down more than 10% from its most recent record high in December and has entered correction.
As the chart below shows, the move lower has been swift. After fighting through smaller blips to start the year as concerns grew over Big Tech’s AI-dominant theme, fears about tariffs and US economic growth have tanked the tech-heavy index.
With a critical jobs report set for release tomorrow, some have argued markets are at a crucial pivot point.
Citi head of US equity trading strategy Stuart Kaiser told Yahoo Finance that Friday’s jobs report is a “pretty significant risk to the market.”
“A good jobs print helps, but it’s probably not enough to sort things out,” Kaiser said. “And if you got a weak print, let’s say below 125,000 jobs [added], or in particular, if the unemployment rate rose, I think you would have a pretty big pullback in US equities in response to that.”
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Trump delays some Mexico, Canada tariffs: Report
President Trump signed an action on Thursday adjusting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, according to reports.
Goods that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement will not be tariffed for now. Those that are not compliant will face 25% tariffs. A White House official said roughly 50% of Mexican imports and 62% of Canadian imports are not compliant, per a post from CNBC’s Megan Cassella on X.
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Tesla stock sinks 6% after Baird cuts price target, citing Musk’s government role
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Bessent: ‘I am not worried about inflation’ from Trump’s tariffs
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:
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Wild swings in S&P 500 reminiscent of the market’s last ‘growth scare’
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) has now swung more than 2% in six straight sessions.
Per data from Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre, this is the longest stretch with such large intraday movement in the benchmark index since August 2024. Notably, that’s also the last time the market narrative centered around a “growth scare” where investors grew concerned about the trajectory of the US economy.
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Prior to that, the S&P 500 hadn’t seen such large intraday moves since regional banking concerns dominated the stock market in March 2023.
This is to say that if things in the market seem more chaotic than they were over the past few months, when the S&P 500 hit its most recent record high, the data shows that’s certainly true. But as the past two volatility bouts of this scale showed, not every scare means the bull market is coming to an end.
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DOGE job cuts are appearing in some, but not all, labor market data
The early impact of job cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is appearing in some labor market numbers.
On Thursday, data from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed job cuts soared in February to 172,017, their highest monthly level since July 2020. This marked a 245% increase in layoff announcements from the month prior. The firm noted cuts from DOGE and “retail woes” drove the increase in job eliminations.
“With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Separate data from the Department of Labor, also released Thursday, showed 1,510 weekly unemployment claims were filed in the District of Columbia in the week ending March 1, down from 1,893 but still significantly elevated compared to data over the past year.
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Markets sink to session lows after no mention of Canada in announcement of more tariff exemptions
The markets sank back toward session lows on Thursday after President Trump announced that tariffs on goods and services from Mexico that fall under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) would be delayed until April 2.
However, the president did not say the same about Canada.
“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement. This Agreement is until April 2nd,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum,” he added.
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The omission of Canada appears to have spooked the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell more than 1% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 1.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) lost more than 2%.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump wrote, “Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister. So much fun to watch!”
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Chip stocks fall as investor fears over AI demand continue to weigh
Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports:
Nvidia (NVDA) stock fell as much as 2.6% early Thursday, leading other chipmakers down as fears over AI demand continued to weigh on the sector.
Read more here.
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What does Nvidia stock chart say as sell-off continues?
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi reports:
Read more here.
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Lutnick says that goods and services compliant with USMCA may receive one-month tariff reprieve
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that goods and services that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are likely to be omitted for one month from the 25% tariffs implemented against Mexico and Canada earlier this week.
“The reprieve is for one month,” Lutnick said in an interview with CNBC.
“It’s likely that it will cover all USMCA compliant goods and services, so that which is part of President Trump’s deal with Canada and Mexico are likely to get an exemption from these tariffs,” Lutnick said.
The major averages pared losses following Lutnick’s comments.
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Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq fall as tech tanks on tariff worries, earning miss
The major averages opened lower on Thursday as investors assessed the impact of President Trump’s tariff policies and a disappointing sales outlook from Marvell (MRVL) weighed on tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.9% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) lost 1.8% led by losses of Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), and AMD (AMD).
Tech is leading to the downside after Marvell’s (MRVL) quarterly sales forecast failed to calm anxieties over the AI payoff.
Thursday was shaping out to be a reversal from Wednesday’s session when stocks saw sharp gains after the Trump administration granted a temporary exemption to the Big Three automakers following the implementation of 25% levies against trading partners Canada and Mexico.
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Weekly unemployment claims fall, continuing claims move higher
Data from the Department of Labor released Thursday morning showed 221,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending March 1, down from 241,000 the week prior and below the 233,000 economists had expected.
However, in a sign unemployed workers are taking longer to find a new job, continuing claims for unemployment benefits during the week ending Feb. 22 moved higher. 1.89 million claims were filed during the week, up from the 1.855 million the week prior. Continuing claims are hovering near a three-year high.
Additional data released Thursday morning showed announced job cuts soared in February to 172,017, their highest monthly level since July 2020, per job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This marked a 245% increase in layoff announcements from the month prior. The firm noted cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and “retail woes” drove the increase in job eliminations.
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Macy’s stock drops 3% premarket on cautious outlook
Macy’s (M) stock fell 3% premarket after the iconic retailer missed expectations for fourth quarter same-store sales growth and issued cautious guidance.
Several other retailers forecast weaker outlooks this week, as executives broadly see tariffs as having an impact on sales. But it comes at a critical point for Macy’s, which has been attempting a turnaround.
Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:
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German bonds extend worst drop since 1990 as sell-off spreads worldwide
German bonds are selling off again as investors react to the country’s historic move to ramp up spending on defense as the US pulls its military support in Europe. The rout echoed through debt markets worldwide, pulling down prices.
Bloomberg reports:
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Alibaba stock gains as new Chinese AI tools spur buying
Alibaba shares are rising in premarket, up almost 3%, following a surge for the stock in Asia as local tech names got a boost from the arrival of several new AI models.
The moves come after China-based DeepSeek sent ripples through Silicon Valley with its bombshell release of a potentially lower-cost AI chatbot rival to ChatGPT.
Bloomberg reports:
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Trending tickers in after-hours trade on Wednesday
Marvell (MRVL)
S in AI circuitry company Marvell Technology tumbled 15% after the bell on Wednesday. This is despite beating revenue and earnings expectations in all four of the previous quarters. The fall shows investors’ demand for ever-higher growth from AI businesses.
Zscaler (ZS)
Data cybersecurity company Zscaler saw a 5% jump in shares in after-hours trade. The company surprised by trouncing revenue and earnings expectations by over 10%.
MongoDB (MDB)
MongoDB shares saw the ire of disappointed traders. Despite posting positive revenue and earnings the company failed to beat Wall Streets expectations. Shares in the cloud-based database specialist dived 16% post-market close.
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Alibaba stock leaps on DeepSeek rival reveal
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s (BABA) stock soared with the largest single-day jump in weeks after the company revealed a model that it claims provides DeepSeek-level performance while requiring far less data.
Bloomberg reports:
