US stocks slumped on Monday after President Donald Trump ramped up his newest tariffs, while investors continued to sell off companies that could be losers in the artificial-intelligence revolution.
The S&P 500 fell 1% after Trump said on Saturday that he would place temporary 15% tariffs on other countries. That's up from the 10% rate he announced Friday following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping "reciprocal" taxes on imports from around the world.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.1%.
Trump's quick move toward more aggressive tariffs shows how much uncertainty still hangs over the global economy, even after the Supreme Court said the president lacked the legal authority to institute his sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs.
Beyond a 15% tariff that could last for up to 150 days, unless Congress extends it further, Trump is moving forward on other avenues to place more permanent tariffs on countries and industries. That has trading partners uneasy. South Korea's trade minister, Kim Jung-kwan, said on Monday that uncertainty may worsen if the Trump administration continues imposing new tariffs under alternative laws.
Tariff reaction less severe
Monday's moves for markets weren't close to as bad as the panic that swept the world in April, when Trump initially announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs. US stocks were modestly higher for a brief moment during the morning.
The US dollar's value edged lower against other currencies. Bitcoin briefly fell below $US64,000 but remained above its low point reached earlier this month. Gold continued to rise thanks to its reputation as something safer to own during uncertain times.
Investors may be sensing it will take a long time, as well as more court battles, before more clarity comes about how global trade will look.
On Wall Street, big losses hit companies under suspicion of getting undercut by AI-powered rivals. Investors have been sharply and suddenly punishing stocks of such companies recently. Companies that have lent money to software companies whose revenues may be under threat also continued falling.
Investors eye Nvidia earnings
More big moves may still be ahead for Wall Street this week, particularly with a profit report from Nvidia coming on Wednesday.
Worries are rising that companies like Alphabet and Amazon may be spending so much on Nvidia's chips that they'll never be able to recoup their investments through higher productivity and future profits.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks of airlines fell after heavy snow and high winds cancelled thousands of flights across the busy northeast.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 71.76 points to 6,837.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821.91 to 48,804.06, and the Nasdaq composite sank 258.80 to 22,627.27.
Fed rates call a ‘coin flip
A top official at the Federal Reserve said Monday that it's a "coin flip" on whether the Fed will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in March or stand pat again.
The comments from Fed. Gov. Christopher Waller were a notable shift from January, when he was one of the two Fed governors to dissent against the central bank's decision to hold its key rate steady after three rate cuts at the end of last year.
Lower rates would give the economy a boost, and Trump has been lobbying angrily for them. But they also could risk worsening inflation.
