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Wall Street closed sharply lower on Thursday, pulled down by tech and discretionary stocks. The S&P 500 confirmed it had gone into correction mode, and Trump’s tariff rhetoric continued to weigh on investor sentiment. All the three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 1.3%, or 537.36 points, to close at 40,813.57. Twenty components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while 10 ended in positive.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 345.44 points, or 2%, to close at 17,303.01.
The S&P 500 declined 77.78 points, or 1.4%, to close at 5,521.52. Ten of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) lost 2.5, 2.1% and 2%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) rose 0.3%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.8% to 24.66. A total of 15.11 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.60 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 2.75-to-1 ratio on the NYSE.
S&P 500 in Correction, Tariff Rhetoric Continues to Ail
Earlier in the month, the Nasdaq Composite had confirmed that it was in correction after closing 10.4% lower than its Dec. 16 all-time closing high. On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed 10.1% below its Feb. 19 record closing high, confirming that it has been in a correction since then.
Investor sentiment has been wary about the Trump administration’s unstable tariff announcements, and have pared the gains made since Trump won the elections in November. Fears of inflation going up and pushing the economy toward a recession have been prevalent in the markets.
These fears were further stoked on Thursday when Trump threatened to charge a 200% tariff on European wines and spirit imports in retaliation to the E.U.'s announcement of a 50% tax on U.S. whiskey imports into Europe. In fact, investor mood has been so grim around these unexpected tariff developments that something as positive as producer-side inflation subsiding barely had an impact on the session.
The Department of Labor also reported that initial claims decreased by 2,000 to 220,000 for the week ended March 8 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 221,000 to 222,000. The 4-week moving average was 226,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 224,250 to 224,500.
Continuing claims through the week ending March 1 were 1,870,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 1,897,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,872,250, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 1,866,000.
Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index (“PPI”) was unchanged in February. The number for January was revised up to 0.6% from the previously reported 0.5%. Core PPI came in at an increase of 0.4% in February. The number for January was revised up to 0.2% from the previously reported 0.1%.
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Stock Market News For Mar 14, 2025
Wall Street closed sharply lower on Thursday, pulled down by tech and discretionary stocks. The S&P 500 confirmed it had gone into correction mode, and Trump’s tariff rhetoric continued to weigh on investor sentiment. All the three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 1.3%, or 537.36 points, to close at 40,813.57. Twenty components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while 10 ended in positive.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 345.44 points, or 2%, to close at 17,303.01.
The S&P 500 declined 77.78 points, or 1.4%, to close at 5,521.52. Ten of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) lost 2.5, 2.1% and 2%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) rose 0.3%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.8% to 24.66. A total of 15.11 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.60 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 2.75-to-1 ratio on the NYSE.
S&P 500 in Correction, Tariff Rhetoric Continues to Ail
Earlier in the month, the Nasdaq Composite had confirmed that it was in correction after closing 10.4% lower than its Dec. 16 all-time closing high. On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed 10.1% below its Feb. 19 record closing high, confirming that it has been in a correction since then.
Investor sentiment has been wary about the Trump administration’s unstable tariff announcements, and have pared the gains made since Trump won the elections in November. Fears of inflation going up and pushing the economy toward a recession have been prevalent in the markets.
These fears were further stoked on Thursday when Trump threatened to charge a 200% tariff on European wines and spirit imports in retaliation to the E.U.'s announcement of a 50% tax on U.S. whiskey imports into Europe. In fact, investor mood has been so grim around these unexpected tariff developments that something as positive as producer-side inflation subsiding barely had an impact on the session.
Consequently, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD - Free Report) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (META - Free Report) slid 5.1% and 4.7%, respectively. Both currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The Department of Labor also reported that initial claims decreased by 2,000 to 220,000 for the week ended March 8 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 221,000 to 222,000. The 4-week moving average was 226,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 224,250 to 224,500.
Continuing claims through the week ending March 1 were 1,870,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 1,897,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,872,250, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 1,866,000.
Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index (“PPI”) was unchanged in February. The number for January was revised up to 0.6% from the previously reported 0.5%. Core PPI came in at an increase of 0.4% in February. The number for January was revised up to 0.2% from the previously reported 0.1%.