By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended lower Tuesday due to ongoing uncertainty over the global economic outlook due to President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
As concerns that tariffs will increase inflationary pressures and negatively affect economic growth continued, Trump announced new tariffs against Canada.
Hours before a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports was set to take effect on March 12, he said he would increase tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products to 50%.
Trump's decision came after the Canadian province of Ontario announced that it would impose a 25% surcharge on electricity supplied to US states.
Following Trump’s threat to increase tariffs to 50%, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that he had agreed to suspend the 25% surcharge on electricity supplied to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
Trump has also signaled that he may reverse his decision to double steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada.
His trade adviser, Peter Navarro, said in an interview that there are no plans to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Canada to 50%.
Data released Tuesday on the US labor market was also followed by investors, which showed that the number of open jobs in the country increased in January, pointing to the resilience of the labor market.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, available positions climbed to 7.74 million from a revised 7.51 million in December, exceeding market expectations.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's announcement following talks between US and Ukrainian delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that it was ready to accept a US proposal for a 30-day “emergency ceasefire” was welcomed by the markets.
With these developments, the VIX Index, also known as the “fear index,” dropped by 3.37% to 26.92.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.14%, or 478.23 points, to end the day at 41,433.48.
The S&P 500 declined by 0.76%, or 42.49 points, to 5,572.07, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.18%, or 32.23 points, to 17,436.10.