U.S. stock sell-offs get worse amid Trump’s economic policy impact
Global News
It was the worst day yet in a scary stretch where the S&P 500 has swung more than 1%, up or down, seven times in eight days because of Trump’s on -and- off -again tariffs.
The U.S. stock market’s sell-off cut deeper on Monday as Wall Street questioned how much pain President Donald Trump will let the economy endure through tariffs and other policies in order to get what he wants.
Canadian markets also suffered Monday, with the TSX losing almost 400 points.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% to drag it close to 9% below its all-time high, which was set just last month. At one point, the S&P 500 was down 3.6% and on track for its worst day since 2022. That’s when the highest inflation in generations was shredding budgets and raising worries about a possible recession that ultimately never came.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 890 points, or 2.1%, after paring an earlier loss of more than 1,100, while the Nasdaq composite skidded by 4%.
It was the worst day yet in a scary stretch where the S&P 500 has swung more than 1%, up or down, seven times in eight days because of Trump’s on -and- off -again tariffs. The worry is that the whipsaw moves will either hurt the economy directly or create enough uncertainty to drive U.S. companies and consumers into an economy-freezing paralysis.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 378.05 points at 24,380.71, recovering some ground after dipping by more than 500 points earlier in the day.
The U.S. economy has already given some signals of weakening, mostly through surveys showing increased pessimism. And a widely followed collection of real-time indicators compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta suggests the U.S. economy may already be shrinking.
Asked over the weekend whether he was expecting a recession in 2025, Trump told Fox News Channel: “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing.” He then added, “It takes a little time. It takes a little time.”
