Markets News, March 3, 2025: Stocks Tumble as Trump Says Tariffs Set to Take Effect; Nvidia Plunges as Volatile Run Continues

Stocks closed sharply lower Monday as President Donald Trump said that tariffs against Mexico and Canada will go into effect as planned on Tuesday, adding to investor worries about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 fell 1.8%, its biggest one-day decline of 2025, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.5%. Stocks were coming off of solid gains on Friday, though major indexes still recorded losses for February amid the mounting economic concerns and uncertainty about the impact of policies coming from the Trump White House.

Manufacturing data released this morning came in weaker than expected and indicated that inflationary pressure is rising. With tariffs against Canada and Mexico—as well as an increase in the rates charged on Chinese imports—set to take effect effect Tuesday, economists have said that inflation is likely to accelerate. Hopes that the tariffs could be avoided faded Monday after Trump's latest remarks.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is correlated with expectations on where interest rates are headed and affects costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.16% late Monday, down from 4.23% at the end of last week and at its lowest level since early December. Investors are keeping close tabs on economic indicators as they look for signs that the economy is on sound footing and for information that could affect the Federal Reserve's decision-making on interest rates. The big data event of the week comes Friday, when the February jobs reports is scheduled for release.

Shares of the world's largest technology companies were lower across the board on Monday, led by AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which dropped nearly 9%, leading Dow and Nasdaq decliners, extending a volatile run since last week's earnings report. Rival chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO), which is slated to report earnings on Thursday, slid 6%, while shares of EV maker Tesla (TSLA), which have shed more than a quarter of their value so far this year, fell nearly 3%. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG) and Meta Platforms (META) also lost ground.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI), the AI server maker that has been on a bumpy ride for months, fell 13% to lead S&P 500 decliners on Monday. Other stocks that have been fueled by booming demand for AI, including chip designer Arm Holdings (ARM) and nuclear power company Constellation Energy (CEG), also tumbled.

Stocks tied to cryptocurrencies rose sharply in early trading after Trump on Sunday announced the creation of a "Crypto Strategic Reserve." Bitcoin, which had dropped to a three-month low below $80,000 on Friday, was trading around $86,200 recently after rising to more than $93,000 earlier in the day.

Shares of Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy and one of the world's largest holders of bitcoin, closed nearly 2% lower amid the broader sell-off, after rising more than 10% this morning. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (RIOT) shed more than 4% after giving up their big gains from earlier in the day.

Gold futures were up 2% at $2,905 an ounce in late trading, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slid nearly 2% to $68.45 per barrel.

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