Volatile markets fell, then really plunged, and rebounded some in wild trading to close off their lows for the day — but still in the red. Tariffs appeared to balloon then subside in another chaotic day for international trade prospects.
Tech stocks led a late bit of late market rebound and media was mixed with Disney squeezed (down 4.4%) on concerns over consumer sentiment amid an uncertain economy. Sirius XM fell 6% after its CFO was cautious on advertising prospects at a media conference, noting a recent dip in sales.
Much of media runs on advertising. Paramount stock fell 4%, Warner Bros. Discovery by 2%. Nexstar, Charter, Fox, Comcast, Snap, Roku and Google parent Alphabet lost ground. Tariffs are expected to raise prices for many goods even as post-Covid inflation lingers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 500 points. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Russell 2000 all ended lower.
President Donald Trump — who has started trade wars with Canada, Mexico and China and threatened tariffs on European goods – in an interview over the weekend, did not discount the possibility of a recession.
Broad 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada set for last week were extended for a month except for 25% hits to all global steel and aluminum imports starting tomorrow. Early in the day, Trump appeared ready to double that proposed tariff rate on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%, which would be a big hit to companies Stateside (except for steel and aluminum companies) since Canada is the largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the U.S. The doubling came after Ontario threatened to raise surcharges on electricity sent to the U.S. However, Ontario suspended those plans after talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the U.S. appeared to walked back the 50% for now.
A joint statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Lutnick said they “had a productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada.”
“Secretary Lutnick agreed to officially meet with Premier Ford in Washington on Thursday, March 13 alongside the United States Trade Representative to discuss a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline. In response, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.” USCMA is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.
That statement came after Trump’s Truth Social post: “I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.”
Trump also today had threatened to “substantially increase” duties on cars imported into the U.S. from Canada, posting that these tariffs “will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA!”
The president is meeting this afternoon with the Business Roundtable, an influential group of CEOs representing leading U.S. companies and will address them at 5pm ET. He met with tech executives at the White House on Monday, which saw a major market selloff.
Some good news today, following meetings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire, if Russia also signs on, and the said it will immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.
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