US stocks experienced a sharp decline on Thursday as a renewed sell-off in the technology sector unsettled a market already under pressure from concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The S&P 500, a blue-chip index, fell by 1.8 percent, putting it on track for its worst week since early September. The Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted toward technology stocks, dropped 2.6 percent, with chipmaker Marvell Technology plunging 20 percent after disappointing first-quarter results.
Among the Big Tech stocks, Nvidia declined by 5.7 percent, making it one of the biggest losers, while chipmaker Broadcom slipped 6.3 percent ahead of its earnings report scheduled for after market close.
Wall Street stocks have been on a downward trend over the past two weeks as Trump’s tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada fueled concerns about economic growth. This shift has reversed a long period of U.S. dominance in global equities.
“Investors are starting to think the US administration is losing control of the narrative,” said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management.
JPMorgan analyst Dubravko Lakos-Bujas echoed these concerns, stating, “The US exceptionalism trade has been experiencing turbulence over the last two weeks as policy uncertainty rose sharply at a time of a budding growth scare and crowded investor positioning.”
Stocks momentarily reduced their losses on Thursday after the U.S. signaled a temporary tariff reprieve for its trading partners. However, they resumed their decline shortly after.
US TariffsThursday’s market drop is the latest in a series of fluctuations on Wall Street this week as investors assess the effects of Trump’s tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners. The volatility is further compounded by a last-minute exemption for carmakers and the looming threat of broader tariffs next month.
“We are in a ping-pong market,” said Mike Zigmont, co-head of trading at Visdom Investment Group. “At the moment, the market [takes] the latest White House soundbite as fact, but it is ready to go the other way in a heartbeat.”
Investor anxiety was evident in the soaring demand for S&P 500 index put options—financial instruments that gain value when the index falls—set to expire later on Thursday.
Stocks have also faced pressure from worsening economic data in recent weeks. February saw a sharp decline in new orders reported by manufacturers, signaling economic weakness.
Private sector jobs data released on Wednesday indicated that only 77,000 jobs were created in February, significantly below economists’ expectation of 140,000. Investors are now awaiting the release of closely watched non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which will provide further insight into the health of the U.S. labor market.
Meanwhile, European stocks continued their recent rally, which has led them to outperform Wall Street this year. The Europe Stoxx 600 remained flat, while Germany’s Dax index gained 1.5 percent following a historic €500 billion spending package announced by Berlin earlier in the week.
The U.S. dollar slipped 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies.
