Stock Market Today: Stocks tumble as Trump says tariffs will go forward

Updated at 4:38 PM EST by Rob Lenihan

Stocks finished sharply lower Monday trading after President Donald Trump said tariffs against Canada and Mexico will go ahead as planned.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 649.67 points, or 1.5%, to finish the session at 43,191.24, while the S&P 500 fell 1.8% to close at 5,849.72 and marking its worst day since December.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.6% to end the day at 18,350.19.

The tariffs on nearly all goods imported from Mexico and Canada will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 4, hours before Trump's first joint address to Congress in the evening.

“No room left for Mexico or for Canada,” Trump said in response to a reporter's questions. “Reciprocal tariffs start on April 2 ... but very importantly, tomorrow, tariffs, 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico, ... will start."

Trump said in the Roosevelt Room, after announcing a $100 billion investment in Arizona from a Taiwan semiconductor company.

“It’s a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form,” Trump said.

Updated at 3:13 PM EST

Red for the year

Stocks extended declines into the final hour of trading, with the S&P 500 slumping more than 100 points, or 1.7%, to slide into negative territory for the year and the Dow down more than 600 points on the session, following comments from President Trump that tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as additional duties on China, will come into effect at midnight tomorrow.

"Tariffs are an act of war to some degree," billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNS news Sunday. "Over time, they're a tax. The Tooth Fairy doesn't pay them."

On March 3, the #GDPNow model nowcast of real GDP growth in Q1 2025 is -2.8%: https://t.co/T7FoDdgYos. #ATLFedResearch

Download our EconomyNow app or go to our website for the latest GDPNow nowcast: https://t.co/NOSwMl7Jms. pic.twitter.com/FdSehrEcSg— Atlanta Fed (@AtlantaFed) March 3, 2025

Updated at 11:36 AM EST

Intel boost

Intel  (INTC)  shares were a standout earlier gainer on the Nasdaq, rising 3.1% on the session to extend their year-to-date advance past 20%, following a Reuters report that suggested Broadcom  (AVGO)  and Nvidia  (NVDA)  are testing the chipmakers 18A production platform. 

The move could raise the prospect of new agreements for Intel's contract manufacturing division and boost the value of the planned spin-off of its Intel Foundry Services business. 

Related: Intel stocks leaps on report tied to Nvidia and Broadcom

Updated at 10:07 AM EST

Muted outlook

The Institute for Supply Management's  benchmark manufacturing activity survey slumped lower in February, holding just barely above the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction, providing more evidence of economic weakness heading into the depths of the first quarter.

The ISM's headline index fell to 50.3 from 50.9, with new orders tumbling more than 6 points to 48.6 points, for the biggest one-month decline in nearly three years. The prices paid component, meanwhile, surged more than 7 points to 62.4 points, well ahead of the Street's 55.8 point forecast. 

Stocks turned lower following the data release, with the S&P 500 marked 22 points, or 0.37% lower and the Nasdaq giving back its earlier gains to fall 129 points, or 0.68%

Benchmark 2-year Treasury note yields were last see 2 basis points lower at 4.001% while 10-year notes eased to $4.208%.

⚠️BREAKING:

*U.S. FEBRUARY ISM MANUFACTURING PMI SURVEY FALLS TO 50.3; EST. 50.6; PREV. 50.9