NEW YORK, March 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday, as investors awaited details on the U.S. tariffs set to take effect next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 132.71 points, or 0.31 percent, to 42,454.79. The S&P 500 sank 64.45 points, or 1.12 percent, to 5,712.2. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 372.84 points, or 2.04 percent, to 17,899.01.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with technology and communication services leading the laggards by losing 2.46 percent and 2.04 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer staples and utilities led the gainers by going up 1.42 percent and 0.70 percent, respectively.
Market sentiment remained volatile, reacting to shifting signals from Trump regarding the tariff plans. The White House press secretary announced that Trump would hold a press conference at 4 p.m. ET to unveil new auto import tariffs, putting pressure on Tesla and other automakers, including GM and Ford.
In particular, the stocks of Nvidia and Tesla sank 5.74 percent and 5.58 percent on Wednesday, respectively, weighing on overall market sentiment.
In corporate news, GameStop shares surged 11.65 percent after the video game retailer approved a plan to invest its cash holdings in bitcoin.
Economic data released Wednesday showed durable goods orders rising 0.9 percent in February, surpassing expectations for a 1 percent decline but falling short of January's 3.3 percent increase.
Meanwhile, Barclays strategist Venu Krishna lowered his 2025 S&P 500 target to 5,900 from 6,600, suggesting minimal gains of just 0.3 percent from the index's starting level this year. "Our base case assumes that earnings take a hit as tariffs contribute to material slowing in U.S. activity that nonetheless stops short of outright recession," Krishna wrote. "Given significant uncertainty around trade policy, our bull and bear case EPS estimates hinge upon the final scope and severity of tariffs (60 percent probability)."
