Wall Street's indexes plummet; auto tariffs seen as negotiation tool - Mubasher Info

Mubasher: The benchmark indexes of Wall Street declined on Thursday, 27 March, driven by President Donald Trump's 25% tariff announcement for auto imports.

The decision “sent auto stocks into a tailspin, while investors sifted through a slew of economic indicators,” according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the plan to implement 25% tariffs on imported cars and light trucks as of 2 April is seen as “a trade negotiation. The markets are jittery because nobody really knows what's going to happen and what will come out in future," Reuters cited Chairman and Interim CEO of Aether Holdings, Nicolas Lin.

On the other hand, other tariffs on auto parts are expected to begin from 3 May 2025.

General Motors opens new tab fell 8.2% and Ford opens new tab lost 2.7%.

Car-parts manufacturers like Aptiv and BorgWarner opens new tab each shed about 6% each.

Tesla opens new tab was up about 0.8% after a 5.6% drop in the previous session.

The news portal stated that at 9:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, opens new tab fell 271.87 points, or 0.64%, to 42,182.92, the S&P 500 opens new tab lost 34.29 points, or 0.59%, to 5,677.91 and the Nasdaq Composite opens new tab lost 119.69 points, or 0.67%, to 17,779.32.”

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were in the red, with technology opens new tab leading with a 1.3% drop. Consumer staples opens new tab, often seen as a sector that is able to fare better in an uncertain economic environment, inched up 0.4%.

Furthermore, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices are on course to conclude the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 in negative territory, with the benchmark index poised for its first quarterly decline in six quarters, while the tech-centric index braces for its largest quarterly drop in nearly two years.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.11-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.88-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 18 new highs and 91 new lows.

Source: Mubasher Source: {{details.article.source}}