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Stocks resumed their steep pullback on Thursday as the latest concessions from the White House on President Donald Trump’s controversial tariff policies failed to calm rattled investors.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished lower by 427.82 points, or 1%, to 42,578.77
The S&P 500 index settled 104.12 points, or 1.8%, to 5,738.51
The NASDAQ Composite backpedaled 438.48 points, or 2.6%, to 18,169.26.
Stocks resumed their steep pullback on Thursday as the latest concessions from the White House on President Donald Trump’s controversial tariff policies failed to calm rattled investors.
Thursday marked a return to selling after the White House’s announcement of a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers that sell cars that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement spurred a recovery rally on Wednesday. That gave hope to investors expecting the levies to be further walked back, in turn mitigating the expected hit to the U.S. economy.
Concerns mounted on Thursday afternoon after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued in favor of tariffs, leaving investors questioning how far the White House would be willing to go in making compromises on the embattled policy over the long term. Investors appeared fatigued by the barrage of statements from administration members and changes to tariff policy in recent days.
Bessent also described Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “numbskull,” while saying the administration was focused more on Main Street than Wall Street. The S&P 500 hit its lowest point since early November in the session.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury edged lower, lifting yields to 4.29% from Wednesday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices eased four cents to $66.27 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold declined 10 cents an ounce to $2,925.90 U.S.
