Wall Street weakened Monday as investors worldwide became more skeptical about American investments, something many economists suggest is due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and his ongoing criticism of the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 sank 2.4 per cent in another wipeout. That yanked the index 16 per cent below its record set two months ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 971 points, or 2.5 per cent, while losses for Tesla and Nvidia helped drag the Nasdaq composite down 2.6 per cent.
In Canada, the main S&P/TSX composite index fell 0.76 per cent today.
Perhaps more worryingly, U.S. government bonds and the value of the U.S. dollar also sank as prices retreated across U.S. markets. It’s an unusual move because the value of U.S. Treasurys and the dollar have historically strengthened during episodes of nervousness. This time around, though, experts say it is policies directly from Washington that are causing the fear and potentially weakening their reputations as some of the world’s safest investments.
Trump kept up his tough talk on global trade Monday as economists and investors continue to say his stiff proposed tariffs could cause a recession if they’re not rolled back. U.S. talks last week with Japan failed to reach a quick deal that could lower tariffs and protect the economy, and they’re seen as a “test case,” according to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie.
“The golden rule of negotiating and success: He who has the gold makes the rules,” Trump wrote in all capital letters on his Truth Social Network. He also said that “the businessmen who criticize tariffs are bad at business, but really bad at politics,” likewise in all caps.
Investors around the world are raising alarm bells after a third day of tariff-related market chaos, with one billionaire Trump ally even warning that not pulling back on tariffs could unleash a ‘self-induced, economic nuclear winter.’
Trump has recently focused more on China, the world’s second-largest economy, which has also been keeping up its rhetoric. China on Monday warned other countries against making trade deals with the United States “at the expense of China’s interest” as Japan, South Korea and others try to negotiate agreements.
“If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
Also hanging over the market are worries about Trump’s anger at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump last week criticized Powell again for not cutting interest rates sooner to give the economy more juice.
The Fed has been resistant to lowering rates too quickly because it does not want to allow inflation to re-accelerate after
slowing nearly all the way down to its two per cent goal from more than nine per cent three years ago.
Trump also referenced Powell in a social media post on Monday afternoon when he posted about a slowdown coming for the U.S. economy “unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW.”
A move by Trump to fire Powell would likely send a bolt of fear through financial markets. While Wall Street loves lower rates, largely because they boost stock prices, the bigger worry would be that a less independent Fed wouldn’t be as effective at keeping inflation under control. Experts worry that such a move could further weaken, if not kill, the United States’ reputation as the world’s safest place to keep cash.
All the uncertainty striking pillars at the centre of financial markets means some investors say they’re having to rethink
the fundamentals of how to invest.
“We can no longer extrapolate from past trends or rely on long-term assumptions to anchor portfolios,” strategists at BlackRock Investment Institute said in a report. “The distinction between tactical and strategic asset allocation is blurred. Instead, we need to constantly reassess the long-term trajectory and be dynamic with asset allocation as we learn more about the future state of the global system.”
That in turn could push investors outside the United States to keep more of their money in their home markets, according to the strategists led by Jean Boivin.
Big tech leads the drop
On Wall Street, Big Tech stocks helped lead indexes lower ahead of their latest earnings reports due later this week.
Tesla sank 5.7 per cent. The electric vehicle’s stock has more than halved from its record set in December on criticism that its stock price had gone too high and that its brand has become too entwined with Elon Musk, who’s leading the U.S. government’s efforts to cut spending.
Chipmaker Nvidia fell 4.5 per cent for a third straight drop after disclosing that U.S. export limits on chips to China could hurt its first-quarter results by $5.5 billion. They led another wipeout on Wall Street, and 92 per cent of the stocks within the S&P 500 fell.
Among the few gainers were Discover Financial Services and Capital One Financial, which climbed after the U.S. government approved their proposed merger. Discover rose 3.6 per cent, while Capital One added 1.5 per cent.
The Current18:49What does stock market chaos mean for your money?
Trump’s global tariffs have sparked a stock market meltdown, leaving many Canadians worried about their investments, their pensions — and what it all means for day-to-day cost of living. Guest host Mark Kelley breaks down how this will affect ordinary Canadians with the CBC’s senior business reporter Peter Armstrong and economist Armine Yalnizyan.
Gold also climbed to burnish its reputation as a safe-haven investment, unlike some others.
In the bond market, shorter-term U.S. Treasury yields fell as investors expect the Fed to cut its main overnight interest rate later this year to support the economy.
But longer-term yields rose with doubts about the United States’ standing in the global economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.40 per cent, up from 4.34 per cent at the end of last week and from just about four per cent earlier this month. That’s a substantial move for the bond market.
The U.S. dollar’s value, meanwhile, fell against the euro, Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and other currencies. The Canadian dollar traded for 72.36 cents U.S. as well, up from 72.17 cents U.S. on Thursday.
