Investing.com--The S&P 500 fell Wednesday, weighed down by tech stocks as investors worried about the impact of trade tariffs.
At 1:00 p.m. ET (17:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 index fell 1%, and the NASDAQ Composite retreated 1.9%.
Big tech pulls back
Big tech dragged the broader market lower, with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) leading selloff as tariff uncertainty continued to weigh on sentiment.
Sentiment on Nvidia was also hurt by concerns about China demand after the Financial Times reported that Beijing new energy efficiency rules could prevent Chinese companies from buying Nvidia’s best-selling processors.
The slump in Tesla followed five-straight days of gains after CEO Elon Musk’s all-hands meeting that helped reassure investors.
Tariff worries grow
President Donald Trump could impose new tariffs on auto imports as soon as Wednesday, CNBC reported, citing a White House official.
The announcement comes ahead of an April 2 Trump deadline for reciprocal tariff measures, with recent reports having suggested these measures may be more targeted than originally thought, aiming at about 15 countries that the White House believes have a trade imbalance with the U.S.
The president has said that he will seek to limit exceptions to his plans to impose more trade tariffs, as his April 2 deadline for reciprocal duties approaches.
But the president told Newsmax’s Greg Kelly in a Tuesday evening interview that he did not “want to have too many exceptions” to his upcoming levies, which he has previously threatened could match foreign duties placed on U.S. goods.
“I’ll probably be more lenient than reciprocal, because if I was reciprocal, that would be very tough for people,” Trump said
Economic data, Fed speakers in focus
Data released earlier Wednesday showed new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in February and could remain sluggish as economic uncertainty rises because of tariffs, discouraging businesses from boosting spending on equipment.
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 0.3% last month after an upwardly revised 0.9% surge in January, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Wednesday.
Investors are watching for signs that could indicate for a rise in inflation and a potential economic slowdown.
A revised reading on fourth quarter gross domestic product is due on Thursday.
PCE price index data - the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge - is due on Friday, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s outlook on interest rates.
Several Fed officials - including Chicago Fed President Neel Kashkari and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin - are set to speak in the coming days.
Corporate earnings continue
Traders will also be keeping tabs on a slate of corporate returns due out prior to the opening bell on Wall Street.
Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) stock rose 2% after the online pet food retailer reported core income in the fourth quarter that topped analysts’ expectations, bolstered by a solid uptick in demand.
Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) stock rose more than 4% after the discount retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and announced plans to sell its Family Dollar business.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) stock gained 4% after the payrolls service slightly missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue, as businesses cut back on spending for human capital management services amid economic uncertainty.
Additionally, GameStop (NYSE:GME) soared over 15% after its management approved a plan to buy Bitcoin with excess cash holdings.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)