Nvidia fell 5.74%. The S&P 500 lost 1.12% to end at 5,712.20 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.04% to 17,899.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31% to 42,454.79.
Treasury yields inched higher as investors weighed potential exemptions from Trump’s tariffs and Federal Reserve officials signaled a patient approach to interest rate cuts. Uncertainty around levies on U.S. imports gripped markets again, with Trump planning to announce tariffs on the auto industry later in the day. "This psychological churn is, I expect, what we'll see at least until that April 2 date, but probably even beyond, because there's so many moving parts. We have all the macro data and we have all the tariffs uncertainty," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide. Benchmark Treasury notes were down 11/32 to yield 4.3480%. The 30-year bonds lost 23/32, yielding 4.6991%. Two-year notes fell 2/32 to yield 4.0145%. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department sold $70 billion in five-year notes at a high yield of 4.1%. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.33.
The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and gained on the yen as traders waited on an announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding auto tariffs. Traders are concerned that the trade levies will dent U.S. growth and potentially reignite inflation but are also mulling whether the tariffs will be less onerous than feared. “Everybody's trying to figure out what's going to be done on tariffs,” said Steve Englander, head of global G10 FX Research and North America macro strategy at Standard Chartered Bank's NY Branch. “They want to avoid market pressure before there's an announcement. But I think there's also some risk that, when push comes to shove, the announced tariffs will be more hawkish than the market's pricing,” he added. The dollar index was up 0.37% to 104.57. The euro lost 0.36% to $1.0752. Against the Japanese yen, the greenback gained 0.43% to 150.55 yen.
Oil prices rose, buoyed by government data showing U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell last week and by mounting concerns about tighter global supply following the U.S. threat of tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan crude. U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week as refiners kept ramping up production, while gasoline and distillate stockpiles also dropped, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels to 433.6 million barrels in the week ended March 21, the EIA said, a deeper draw than the 956,000 barrels that analysts had expected in a Reuters poll. Brent crude futures were up 1.12% at $73.84 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 1.06% to $69.73 a barrel.
Gold prices eased as the dollar and U.S. bond yields climbed, although concerns over the Trump administration's fresh tariffs kept prices above $3,000 per ounce level. "Gold remains underpinned by haven interest amid ongoing tariff uncertainties and geopolitical risks. Fresh record highs would bode well for attainment of my next upside target at $3,150," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. "If the tariffs are not as serious as people are thinking, we could see a correction (in gold)," said Marex analyst Edward Meir. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $3,018.22 an ounce. U.S. gold futures were 0.08% lower at $3,023.40 an ounce.
