Wall Street Shaken! S&P 500 Continues to Fall Amid Pressure from Trump’s Policies

Wall Street Shaken! S&P 500 Continues to Fall Amid Pressure from Trump’s Policies

The S&P 500 dropped 0.22%, closing at 5,662.89 on Thursday (March 20), as efforts to rebound from a month-long market downturn failed. Ongoing economic uncertainty continued to weigh heavily on investor sentiment.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.33%, closing at 17,691.63, dragged down by major tech stocks like Apple and Alphabet, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.03% to 41,953.32.
Shares of Accenture plunged over 7% after the company’s Q2 earnings revealed the loss of a federal government contract, amid tighter budget measures under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Fed Holds Rates, Signals Two Cuts in 2024
These market movements followed the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, where policymakers signaled two interest rate cuts later this year, while maintaining the current rate for now.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that Trump’s tariff policies could place added pressure on consumers and the broader economy. In addition, the Fed raised its inflation forecast and lowered its economic growth outlook for the year.
Investors are closely watching the potential impact of Trump’s trade measures, particularly as tariff exemptions on some imports from Canada and Mexico are set to expire on April 2.

Analyst: “Markets Fear Recession More Than Anything”
Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research, stated, “Markets don’t die from old age; they die from fear. And the greatest fear is recession.”
He added that while the economy is not yet in a full-blown recession, the impact of tariff policies remains unclear.
Although the market saw a brief rebound after the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady, the S&P 500 is still down nearly 8% from its record high in February, and more than 7% over the past month.

Housing Market Shows a Positive Sign
There was a glimmer of optimism from the housing sector. U.S. existing home sales rose 4.2% in February from the previous month to 4.26 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.
While sales were down 1.2% compared to the same period last year, the figure exceeded analysts’ expectations. The positive data helped ease recession concerns during the day, allowing stocks to bounce temporarily, though markets ultimately closed in negative territory.