Wall Street suffered its steepest decline of the year on Monday, a drop fueled by angst about the economy a day after President Trump refused to rule out the possibility that his policies could trigger a recession.
The S&P 500 slid 2.7 percent, the worst daily fall in an already three-week-long stretch of selling. The index is now roughly 9 percent below a record set last month, and approaching a “correction,” a Wall Street term for a decline of 10 percent or more from a recent high.
Over the past few weeks, Mr. Trump has threatened, imposed, suspended and resumed tariffs on America’s largest trade partners: Canada, Mexico and China. The dizzying shifts, including last-minute exemptions for some automakers and energy products, have unnerved investors.
“The market volatility is much less about the bad news of tariffs and much more about the uncertainty of tariffs, especially uncertainty as to what the policy is, where it is headed, how long it will last and what the end result will be,” said David Bahnsen, the chief investment officer at the Bahnsen Group.
In a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday, Mr. Trump was asked about “rising worries about a slowdown,” by the host, Maria Bartiromo. He described what might follow as “a period of transition,” and didn’t rule out the possibility that his policies would cause a recession. Asked during the interview when businesses might have clarity on the on-again, off-again tariff policies, Mr. Trump responded by suggesting that more tariffs could come.
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