By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) – US stocks ended lower Thursday as uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy continued.
While investors remained focused on the effects of the tariff policy on the economy, a negative course was observed in the stock markets.
The US administration, which began imposing tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, announced Wednesday that a one-month exemption would be granted to cars coming into the country under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
On Thursday, Trump also signed a regulation exempting USMCA-compliant goods from tariffs against Mexico and Canada until April 2.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statement on the tariff policy also drew attention. Bessent said that international economic relations that do not work for the American people should be reconsidered and that this is what the tariffs aim to achieve.
The statement raised concerns about the Trump administration's long-term trade policy stance.
On the macroeconomic data side, the number of first-time jobless claims in the US decreased by 21,000 to 221,000 in the week ended March 1, below market expectations.
Despite the decline in jobless claims, fears of a slowdown in the US economy persisted.
Data from consulting company Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that layoffs increased by 245% in February month-on-month to 172,000 due to job cuts in the federal government, canceled contracts, trade war fears and bankruptcies.
The US foreign trade deficit also reached an all-time high in January, doubling year-on-year to $131.4 billion.
Trump, who shared foreign trade data on his Truth Social platform, said his country has a tremendous foreign trade deficit and that he will change this.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.99%, or 427.51 points, to end the day at 42,579.08.
The S&P 500 slid 1.78%, or 104.11 points, to 5,738.52, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 2.61%, or 483.48 points, to 18,069.26.
The VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," soared 13.41% to 24.87.