All NewsFebruary 25, 2025

Stock Market Today: Stocks slide as tariff, growth worries grip sentiment

U.S. stocks turned lower in mid-day Tuesday trading, while Treasury bonds rallied, as investors shunned risky assets amid growing concern about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff and cost-cutting plans on the world’s biggest economy.

Updated at 12:27 PM EST

More probes

UnitedHealth  (UNH)  shares turned sharply lower in mid-day trading following reports of another probe into the nation’s biggest health insurance group and its ties to government-funded healthcare programs.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Chuck Grassley, a Republican senator from Iowa, will launch a formal inquiry into the group’s Medicare Advantage billing practices. 

“We welcome the opportunity to share the facts with Senator Grassley, especially given the ongoing misinformation campaign by” UnitedHealth said in a statement to the Journal.

UnitedHealth shares were last marked 1.5% lower in mid-day trading to change hands at $454.94 each, a move that would extend the stock’s year-to-date decline to around 10.1%.

Updated at 11:34 AM EST

Vote of no confidence

The Conference Board’s index of U.S. consumer confidence suffered its biggest monthly decline since August of 2021 this month, with the benchmark falling 7 points to 98.3 points, the lowest since June.

“Consumers are increasingly nervous about the unknow impacts from potential tariffs and could pull forward consumer demand as they anticipate higher prices for imports in the near future,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial in Charlotte.

“One note of caution: consumer surveys are much more volatile than the hard data of retail sales so the Fed will not likely change their stance on monetary policy at the next couple meetings,” he added.

Updated at 9:38 AM EST

Mixed open

The S&P 500 was marked 7 points, or 0.07% higher in early trading, with the Nasdaq down 36 points, or 0.19%.

The Dow gained 190 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 index rose 5 points, or 0.23%. 

Updated at 7:23 AM EST

Home truths 

Home Depot  (HD)  shares tipped lower in early trading after the world’s biggest home improvement retailer posted a muted near-term sales outlook that clouded a solid set of fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings.

Comparable sales in its current fiscal year, which began in February, will nudge only 1% higher with adjusted earnings falling 2%, Home Depot estimated, with CEO Ted Decker citing “uncertain macroeconomic conditions and a higher interest rate environment that impacted home improvement demand.”

The group did, however, boost its annual dividend by 2.2%, marking the 16th consecutive year of increases, but the rise was also the smallest over that time frame.

Home Depot shares were marked 0.5% lower in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $380.55. 

Stock Market Today

Stocks ended lower on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq extending their losing streaks to a third session, amid a broader retreat in big tech stocks and more indications of fading growth prospects tied to Trump policies.

The president doubled down on his threat to introduce sweeping tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico next week, telling reporters in Washington they’re “going forward on time, on schedule” following a 30-day delay earlier in the month.

Bloomberg News, meanwhile, reported that the administration is seeking to scrap Joe Biden administration rules on tech exports to China and put in place newer and tougher regulations. That would add to a late Friday move that limited investments from that country into certain U.S. sectors, including tech. 

President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington late Monday that tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, delayed until early March, are coming ‘on time.’

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The collective actions, alongside Trump’s desire to slash more than 200,000 federal employees over the coming months through his cost-cutting effort with Tesla  (TSLA)  CEO Elon Musk, sparked a sharp pullback in Treasury bond yields and a retreat from global risk assets.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were marked 10 basis points lower from Monday levels at 4.341% heading into the start of the New York trading session. Two-year notes fell 11 basis points to 4.125% following a solid auction of $69 billion in new paper yesterday.

On Wall Street stocks are set to extend their recent slide, with futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggesting a 12-point opening-bell decline and those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average primed for a modest 35-point pullback.

The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 76 points lower with Nvidia  (NVDA) down another 2% heading into its fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings report on Wednesday after the close of trading. 

Related: Analyst reworks Nvidia stock price target with Q4 earnings on deck

In overseas markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 was marked 0.31% higher in midday Frankfurt trading, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.35% in London. 

More Wall Street Analysts:

Overnight in Asia, traders returned from Monday’s holiday in Japan to mark the Nikkei 225 1.39% lower on the session. Tech stocks led the declines, dragging the index to its lowest level in three months.

The new U.S. investment restrictions, as well as reports of tougher tech export rules, dragged China stocks lower across the board and pulled the regional MSCI ex-Japan index to a 1.38% loss into the close of trading.

Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast