Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up at The Capital of the SH.BA Myft Digest – delivered directly to your box.
Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday after a round of gloomy data on consumer trust deepened investors’ concerns that Donald Trump’s tariffs would knock the largest economy in the world.
The Chip-Chip S&P 500 index 0.1 percent and the composition of heavy technology Nasdaq plunged 0.8 percent in the New York afternoon trading-selling the relief of sales after the greater decline of the day earlier during the day.
US actions had increased significantly after Trump’s elections in November in the hope that it would adopt pro-business economic policy, pushing S&P 500 into a high record last Wednesday.
But a series of disappointing reports about everything, from the consumer’s feeling to home sales have sent the S&P 500 slide for the past four days.
The Conference Board has closely looked at the consumer’s trust sloping 7 points in February 98.3, the largest decline from August 2021 and much worse than it envisioned 102.5 Wall Street.
The short -term consumer view of the economy dropped for the first time since June 2024 below the threshold that usually signals a recession forward.
At the same time, the report showed that average 12-month inflation expectations increased to 6 percent from 5.2 percent.
“This increase is likely to reflect a mixture of factors, including contagious inflation, but also the latest pricing of major household elements such as eggs and expected fee impact,” said Stephanie Guichard, a high economist on the conference board .
Guichard added: “There was a sharp increase in trade and tariff mention. . . Most importantly, the comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the answers. “
Economist JPMORGAN ABIEL REINHART echoed that feeling, saying: “It seems that political titles have begun to cause a attraction to the feeling.”
Investors are growing “increasingly uncomfortable” about a growing list of negative economic data and a potential blow to US growth from unpredictable Trump tariff announcements, said Charlie Mcelligott, a strategist of derivatives in Nomura .
He added that Nomura customers in recent days had increased their purchases of derivatives known as options, which would become valuable if S&P 500 drops significantly.
Protective stocks including Dr Pepper beverage manufacturer and Colgate-Palmoli toothpaste manufacturer both increased more than 2 percent Tuesday as investors moved into market pockets that usually exceed when the economy is invited. Real estate shares, which benefit from lower interest rates, also gathered.
US government debt, which tends to increase during the time of increased market anxiety, by sending yields down. The 10-year treasure yield fell 0.1 percentage points to 4.29 percent, the lowest level from mid-December.
Technology shares, which have grown in recent years and usually perform well during the economic boom time, slide. Peter Thiel Parantir Data Analytical Company poured 3.2 percent, Tesla fell 8.4 percent and the digital advertising group lost 5.9 percent.
“This US rotation seems protective,” said Andrew Lapthorne of Société Générale, who emphasized how investors are increasingly shifting from growth reserves in the technology sector to “low instability” reserves in health care, services and consumer products.
Poor economic figures and concerns about Trump’s tariff plans also sent oil prices falling to a two-month low on Tuesday.
The raw brand, the global standard, fell at 2.2 percent to $ 73.17 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, slipped 2.3 percent to $ 69.11.
“The poor number of consumer confidence was an event of destruction of the demand for raw and gasoline,” said Robert Yawger, a commodity analyst in Mizuho Securities, an investment bank.
Additional report by Jamie Smyth to New York