Wall Street stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, weighed down by declines in Nvidia and Tesla, as investors braced for new U.S. tariffs set to take effect next week.
In the latest development, a report said U.S. President Donald Trump was readying an announcement on auto levies as soon as Wednesday.
Trump suggested on Monday that not all proposed tariffs would be enforced in an upcoming April 2 announcement.
Tesla dropped 6.2%, while shares of other automakers also fell, with Ford Motor and General Motors both down almost 2%.
Uncertainty about the scale of U.S. tariffs, retaliatory measures from trading partners and the potential ripple effects on the global economy and businesses have kept investors on edge over the past month.
"You can see where uncertainty can result in paralysis in terms of spending, whether it's a consumer, whether it's a business," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Billings, Montana.
"If there is a deferral of investment or spending decisions, consumption decisions, then that has a real economic knock-on effect that we need to think about."
Heavyweight chipmaker Nvidia fell 6%, while Broadcom lost over 5%, sending the PHLX chip index down almost 4%.
The S&P 500 was down 1.19% at 5,708.02 points. The Nasdaq declined 2.06% to 17,894.83 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.45% at 42,397.65 points.
Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, seven declined, led lower by information technology, down 2.72%, followed by a 1.71% loss in consumer discretionary.
The S&P 500 energy sector index added 0.5% as crude prices climbed, with investors pricing in tighter global supply following the U.S. threat of tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan oil.
A survey revealed a decline in optimism among top business executives in the first quarter.
Businesses wary of tariff-related price hikes scrambled to build up inventories. Data showed an unexpected increase last month in orders for durable U.S. manufactured goods.
Further contributing to market unease, Barclays revised its S&P 500 target downward to 5,900 points from 6,600. The S&P 500 has lost 3% so far in 2025, while the Nasdaq is down over 7%.
The main focus of this week will be the personal consumption expenditures price index – the Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge – due Friday.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he was uncertain about the effect of Trump's tariffs, with the possibility they could push up prices arguing for higher interest rates.
Dollar Tree rose 3.6% after the discount-retail chain said it is nearing a sale of its Family Dollar business to a consortium of private equity investors for about $1 billion.
GameStop jumped 14% following its board's unanimous approval to incorporate bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.1-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 16 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 164 new lows.
