Wall Street tumbles as Trump’s tariff threats keep investors on edge; Nasdaq sheds over 1%

Lingering uncertainty over US trade policy has weighed on markets this week.

US stocks fell on Thursday as investors grappled with fresh tariff threats from former President Donald Trump and assessed new inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 275 points, or 0.76 percent, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.74 percent. The Nasdaq Composite saw a sharper decline, shedding 1.17 percent.

Also read: US stocks hover near correction territory as Trump's tariff risks mount

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, vowed to impose 200 percent tariffs on European alcoholic beverages in response to the EU’s 50 percent levy on whisky imports. He claimed the move would bolster domestic wine and champagne producers.

Lingering uncertainty over US trade policy has weighed on markets this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are tracking weekly losses of 3.3 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, while the Dow is down 3.6 percent, on course for its worst week since March 2023. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into correction territory earlier in the week, retreating 10 percent from its February peak.

Read more: Forex reserves record biggest weekly gain since 2021

However, inflation data released on Thursday provided some respite. The producer price index (PPI), a key measure of wholesale inflation, remained flat in February, defying expectations of an increase. This followed a milder-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) reading, offering hope that inflationary pressures may be cooling.

Despite the data, analysts remain cautious. While some had anticipated a technical rebound after the recent market slump, concerns over Trump’s trade policies continue to cloud sentiment. The uncertainty also complicates expectations around the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.

Intel shares surged 10 percent after the chipmaker announced Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO. Tan, the former chief executive of Cadence Design Systems, will take over from interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus.

Meanwhile, UiPath tumbled 18 percent as the automation software company’s fourth-quarter revenue and first-quarter sales forecast fell short of market expectations. The company posted revenue of $424 million for the quarter, narrowly missing the $425 million projected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. UiPath also issued a disappointing revenue outlook for the current quarter, expecting between $330 million and $335 million—well below the $368 million analysts had anticipated.

Meanwhile, in Europe, stocks struggled for direction on Thursday as fresh trade tensions rattled investor sentiment. Shares of major wine and spirits companies slumped after former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a 200 percent tariff on alcoholic products from France and other European Union nations. Pernod Ricard, Rémy Cointreau, and Davide Campari all tumbled more than 3 percent following Trump’s social media post, in which he framed the move as retaliation for the EU’s newly imposed 50 percent tariff on American whiskey.

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