NATIONAL NEWS – U.S. stocks fall again after the tariff pause ends

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Stocks in the U.S. feel once again Thursday after the tariff pause that Trump enacted have begun to dissipate. At around midday, the Dow Jones was down 4.3% after surging close to 8% on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down more than 5% each after rising just a day earlier. The declines seen on Thursday underlie how much uncertainty remains about what Trump will do about tariffs given that he left others in place including a 10% tariff on most other countries. He also increased tariffs on China to 145% so far in this term when including all that he had already imposed. 

The uncertainty of what will happen to the U.S. economy with the tariffs is likely to continue and its effects will certainly linger in stock trading. Many investors fear that tariffs would hit the U.S. and the global economy and raise inflation at home. The Federal Reserve appears to be making progress on cooling down prices. Data earlier showed inflation was lower than expected, rising 2.4% in March from a year ago compared to expectations for a 2.6% increase.