Wall Street kicked off the new trading week in turbulence after Trump did not rule out a tariff-driven recession.
Wall Street navigated a fresh round of turbulence to kick off the trading week after President Donald Trump did not rule out a tariff-driven recession.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended March 10 down by 890 points, or 2.08 percent.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index plunged more than 727 points, or 4 percent, marking its worst performance since September 2022 and officially transitioning into correction territory (down 10 percent from its high). The broader S&P 500 erased more than 155 points, or about 2.7 percent.
Treasury yields were also red across the board as traders sought shelter amid the volatility. The benchmark 10-year declined to around 4.22 percent. The two-year yield slipped below 4 percent, while the 30-year yield struggled to hold 4.53 percent.
Economic fears have traversed the financial markets as investors worry that a global trade dispute will ignite a downturn. These concerns were exacerbated after Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.
“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo” on March 9.
“There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big,“ he said. ”We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of … it takes a little time, it takes a little time.”
The president described his tariff plans as protecting the American people after being “ripped off for many decades.”
“We’re not going to be ripped off anymore on the tariffs,” he said.
Later, when reporters aboard Air Force One asked for further clarification, Trump said, “Who knows?”
Trump recently imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and doubled levies on China. Days later, he extended a one-month pause on all products from Canada and Mexico covered by the United States–Mexico–Canada (USMCA) free trade deal.
In a March 6 Truth Social post, Trump said he agreed to this pause “as an accommodation” for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The administration is also poised to implement reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners next month.
By Andrew Moran
