Investing.com - The S&P 500 slumped Thursday, falling into correction territory as rising concerns about a trade war continued to sour sentiment offsetting fresh signs of cooling inflation.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.3%, taking the index into correction territory with losses of more than 10% from recent highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3%.
Producer prices cool more than expected
U.S. producer prices rose at a slower-than-anticipated annualized rate in February, while the measure was unexpectedly unchanged month-on-month, according to data that will likely factor in to how the Federal Reserve views inflation during a time of increased uncertainty around Donald Trump’s trade policy.
The report is set following data on Wednesday showing consumer prices increased at a slower-than-anticipated pace last month, easing concerns about a renewed pick up inflation.
"A cooling PPI on the heels of yesterday’s cooler-than-expected CPI is a vast improvement. Still, while a welcome directional adjustment, after several months of accelerating price pressures," Stifel said. Ine month’s reprieve, however, "does little to instill confidence of a sustained disinflationary trend, particularly as some of the larger monthly gains in the report suggest some further price pressures to come (particularly in next month’s PCE report)," it added.
Trump fresh tariff salvo deepens trade war fears
President Donald Trump said he isn’t willing to back away from plans to impose global reciprocal tariffs on Apr. 2. The update come on the heels of the president’s threat to place 200% tariffs on alcohol imports from the European Union in response to the bloc rolling out retaliatory countermeasures against his steel and aluminum levies.
The next twist in the ongoing tariff saga could come on Thursday, when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer are expected to meet with Doug Ford, the Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario.
Ford has said that the three will discuss a renewal to the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which was signed during Trump’s first term in office.
The gathering will come after the U.S. allowed expanded and sweeping 25% levies on steel and aluminum to come into effect on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Ford became the target of Trump’s ire after he said he would place a 25% surcharge on electricity exported from Ontario to the U.S. However, following discussions with Lutnick and a threat from Trump to double the Canadian steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, Ford temporarily suspended the trade tax.
Intel jumps on CEO announcement; Adobe falls on soft Q2 guidance; Tesla resumes selloff
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) rose by more than 14% after the chipmaker announced the appointment of Lip-Bu Tan as its next Chief Executive.
He succeeds interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, with Zinsner staying on as CFO and Holthaus continuing as CEO of Intel Products. The appointment, which will take effect March 18, comes three months after the departure of former CEO Pat Gelsinger, who had overseen a costly -- but ultimately faltering -- drive to turn around the business.
Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) plunged more than 13% on after the company’ssoft fiscal second-quarter guidance offset better-than-expected Q1 results.
SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S) also disappointed on the earnings stage after reporting first-quarter guidance that fell short of estimates, sending its share more than 5% lower.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), meanwhile, resumed its selloff wiping out some of its recent gains.
(Scott Kanowsky, Ayushman Ojha contributed reporting.)