All three major U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply in Monday's trading, with investors worried about the uncertainty of tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on key trading partners and his reluctance to rule out the possibility of a U.S. recession in the coming months.
The key Dow Jones average of 30 blue chip stocks dropped 2.1% by the end of trading Monday, with the broader S&P 500 index falling 2.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq barometer off 4%.
The S&P 500 had its biggest one-day drop since December 18 and is down 8.6% from its all-time high set less than one month ago, on February 19. The Nasdaq had its largest single-day percentage drop since September 2022.
Trump imposed new 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian exports to the U.S. last week and then days later paused the duties until April 2, leaving investors in a state of uncertainty.
"There's going to be no recession in America," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told NBC News over the weekend, but Trump hedged on the issue.
"I hate to predict things like that," the U.S. leader told Fox News. "There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing."
"It takes a little time," he added.
Trump's on-again, off-again tariff actions have led the S&P 500 to swing more than 1%, up or down, seven times in eight days.
