Wall Street Indexes Face Another Wave of Selling Amid Tariff Turmoil

Barry Adams
26 Mar, 2025
New York City

Wall Street indexes faced another wave of selling as the tariff deadline loomed and investors turned cautious. 

The S&P 500 index decreased as much as 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.5% after tech leaders faced renewed pressure ahead of a fresh round of tariffs. 

The Trump administration is set to announce a new set of tariffs as early as next week; however, investors are confused amid the constantly changing narrative and lack of details. 

Investors are looking for signs of inflation and economic slowdown amid a sharp decline in consumer sentiment and rising prices.

Moreover, businesses are in a holding pattern and postponing investment plans amid a lack of clarity about the tax on imports from China, Japan, India, and the European Union.  

Pharmaceutical and automobile makers are expected to face a new wave of import taxes on ingredients, components, and parts. 

On the economic front, durable goods orders advanced 0.9% from the previous month to $289.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

The January orders were upwardly revised to 3.3%. 

Excluding transportation, orders increased 0.7%, while excluding defense, orders advanced 0.8%.

However, non-defense orders excluding aircraft, a barometer for capital goods spending, declined 0.3% from the previous month and fell for the first time in four months.

 

Commodities, Currencies, Indexes, Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.1% to 5,773.17, the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.5% to 18,185.00, and the Russell 2000 index was down 0.5% to 2,099.38.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.01%, 10-year Treasury notes increased to 4.35%, and 30-year Treasury bonds advanced to 4.69%.

WTI crude oil increased $0.68 to $69.68 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged higher by $0.04 to $3.88 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $2.13 to $3,023.16 an ounce, and silver edged up by $0.04 to $33.71.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, increased by 0.15 to 104.34 and traded at a two-year high.

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Dollar Tree Inc. increased 2.1% to $68.50, and the deep discount store chain operator reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter.

The company said it plans to spin off its Family Dollar business for $1 billion, which the company acquired for $9 billion in 2015. 

GameStop Corp. soared 16% to $28.10 after the company's board approved a plan to buy bitcoin and stablecoins with a portion of its cash and diversify its holdings. 

Chewy Inc. jumped 5% to $35.34, and the online pet food store reported higher-than-expected fourth quarter revenue of $3.5 billion and adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share.

Worthington Enterprises gained 2.8% to $42.80, and the industrial and consumer cylinder tank maker reported a decline in earnings, but adjusted earnings surpassed expectations. 

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter decreased 4% to $42.80, and adjusted earnings were 90 cents per share.