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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 -1.12%, Nasdaq -2.04%, Dow -0.31%

(Updates with price moves after end of session)

By Noel Randewich

March 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks ended sharply

lower on Wednesday, dragged down by losses in Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Tesla

as investors awaited information about long-promised U.S.

tariffs on automotive imports.

U.S. President Donald Trump was set to announce plans for

car-industry tariffs at a press conference on Wednesday,

widening the global trade war he kicked off this year. Auto

industry experts expect the move to drive up prices and stymie

production. For weeks, Trump has promised to announce a swath of

reciprocal tariffs on April 2.

Shares of Tesla dropped 5.6% and General Motors ( GM )

lost 3.1%, with investors uncertain about the scale of

tariffs, retaliatory measures from trading partners and

potential ripple effects on the global economy and businesses.

"Markets hate the tariff uncertainty, especially when it

pertains to autos. Autos are ground zero for the negative

economic impacts of tariffs," said Jamie Cox, managing partner

at Harris Financial Group.

Heavyweight chipmakers Nvidia ( NVDA ) slid almost 6% and

Broadcom ( AVGO ) fell almost 5%, pushing the PHLX chip index

down 3.3%.

The S&P 500 declined 1.12% to end the session at

5,712.20 points. The Nasdaq declined 2.04% to 17,899.02 points,

while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.31% to

42,454.79 points.

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

lower by information technology, down 2.46%, followed

by a 2.04% loss in communication services.

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.

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 later 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 3.1% after the discount-retail

chain said it was nearing a sale of its Family Dollar business

to a consortium of private equity investors for about $1

billion.

GameStop ( GME ) jumped nearly 12% following its board's

unanimous approval to incorporate bitcoin as a treasury reserve

asset.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling 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 33 new highs and 197 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 15.5

billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.2 billion

shares over the previous 20 sessions.