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Trump preparing auto tariff announcement soon, report says

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Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) up on sale of Family Dollar business

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GameStop ( GME ) climbs on bitcoin bet, higher Q4 profit

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Barclays cuts S&P 500 2025 target

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S&P 500 -1.19%, Nasdaq -2.06%, Dow -0.45%

(Updates with afternoon trading)

By Johann M Cherian and Noel Randewich

March 26 (Reuters) -

Wall Street stocks tumbled on Wednesday, dragged down by

losses in Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Tesla as investors awaited information

about forthcoming U.S. tariffs expected to be enacted next week.

In the latest development, a report said U.S. President

Donald Trump was readying an announcement on auto levies as soon

as Wednesday. Trump suggested on Monday that not all proposed

tariffs would be enforced in an upcoming April 2 announcement.

Tesla dropped 6.2%, while shares of other

automakers also fell, with Ford Motor ( F ) and General Motors ( GM )

both down almost 2%.

Uncertainty about the scale of U.S. tariffs, retaliatory

measures from trading partners, and the potential ripple effects

on the global economy and businesses have kept investors on edge

over the past month.

"You can see where uncertainty can result in paralysis

in terms of spending, whether it's a consumer, whether it's a

business," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S.

Bank Wealth Management in Billings, Montana. "If there is a

deferral of investment or spending decisions, consumption

decisions, then that has a real economic knock-on effect that we

need to think about."

Heavyweight chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 6%, while

Broadcom ( AVGO ) lost over 5%, sending the PHLX chip index

down almost 4%.

The S&P 500 was down 1.19% at 5,708.02 points. The

Nasdaq declined 2.06% to 17,894.83 points, while the Dow Jones

Industrial Average was down 0.45% at 42,397.65 points.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, seven declined, led

lower by information technology, down 2.72%, followed

by a 1.71% loss in consumer discretionary.

The S&P 500 energy sector index added 0.5% as

crude prices climbed, with investors pricing in tighter global

supply following the U.S. threat of tariffs on nations buying

Venezuelan oil.

A survey revealed a decline in optimism among top

business executives in the first quarter.

Businesses wary of tariff-related price hikes scrambled to

build up inventories. Data showed an unexpected increase last

month in orders for durable U.S. manufactured goods.

Further contributing to market unease, Barclays revised its

S&P 500 target downward to 5,900 points from 6,600. The S&P 500

has lost 3% so far in 2025, while the Nasdaq is down over 7%.

The main focus of this week will be the personal consumption

expenditures price index - the Federal Reserve's favored

inflation gauge - due on Friday.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he was

uncertain about the effect of Trump's tariffs, with the

possibility they could push up prices arguing for higher

interest rates.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) rose 3.6% after the discount-retail

chain said it is nearing a sale of its Family Dollar business to

a consortium of private equity investors for about $1 billion.

GameStop ( GME ) jumped 14% following its board's unanimous

approval to incorporate bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500

by a 1.1-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 16 new highs and 6 new lows; the

Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 164 new lows.