By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended sharply lower Monday after President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect as planned on Tuesday and on weak US economic data.
“Tomorrow, tariffs -- 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He also announced that tariffs on "external" agricultural products and reciprocal tariffs will start on April 2.
“Reciprocal tariffs start on April 2. And I wanted to make it April 1, but I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to go April Fool’s Day, because that costs a lot of money, so we’re going April 2,” he noted.
On the macroeconomic data side, the ISM's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 50.3% in February, down 0.6% from January's 50.9% and the market forecast of 50.6%.
Personal consumption expenditures in the US decreased by 0.2% in January, contrary to expectations for an increase.
The US goods trade deficit also hit a record high in January, reaching $153.3 billion, up 25.6% compared to the previous month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.48%, or 649.67 points, to end the day at 43,191.24.
The S&P 500 fell 1.76%, or 104.78 points, to 5,849.72.
The Nasdaq Composite dove 2.64%, or 497.09 points, to 18,350.19.
Meanwhile, the VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," soared 16.05% to 22.78.