As Wall Street heads into a new quarter, a flurry of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are set to go into effect. That has traders on edge and has helped put US stocks in their worst first-quarter slump in years. Wall Street has been rocked with volatility this year as Trump’s tariff proposals have kept investors in a cloud of uncertainty. The benchmark S&P 500 index is down 4.6% for the year, its worst start since 2022 and its worst quarter since September 2022. US stocks were mixed Monday as traders staged an afternoon rally. The Dow closed higher by 418 points, or 1%, reversing course after opening lower. The S&P 500 gained 0.55%. The benchmark index rebounded into the green in the afternoon after sliding as much as 1.65% Monday morning, briefly reentering correction territory and dropping to its lowest level since September. The Nasdaq slid 0.14%, paring losses after sliding 2.7% in morning trading and hitting its lowest level since September. While US stocks rebounded, stocks around the globe were lower Monday ahead of Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” this Wednesday when reciprocal tariffs in addition to others are set to be unveiled. Economists anticipate the sweeping tariffs could spur inflation and drag on economic growth. The full extent of Trump’s tariffs is yet to be seen, and the lack of clarity has weighed on Wall Street. Market strategists have been revising down their forecasts for US stocks amid heightened concerns about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the US economy. Analysts at Goldman Sachs on Sunday lowered their year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,700 from 6,200. That comes after analysts at the bank earlier this month lowered their target to 6,200 from 6,500. Analysts at Barclays last week lowered their year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,900 from 6,600. Meanwhile, analysts at UBS lowered their year-end target to 6,400 from 6,600. Ed Yardeni, president of investment advisory Yardeni Research, on Sunday lowered his year-end target for the S&P 500 to 6,100 from 6,400. Yardeni earlier this month had lowered it to 6,400 from 7,000. The economy faces a growing risk of a recession as tariffs could hinder growth, increase unemployment and contribute to inflation, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank on Sunday said it sees a 35% chance of a recession in the next 12 months, up from 20% previously. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar’s strength against six foreign currencies, is down almost 4% this year, its worst start to any year since 2016. Oil prices surged after Trump on Sunday said he would put secondary tariffs on “all oil coming out of Russia” if a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war doesn’t come together and he thinks it was Russia’s fault. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, surged 3% on Monday to hit $71.46 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 2.68% to hit $74.71 a barrel. Gold surged to a fresh record high. The most actively traded gold futures contract in New York on Monday rose above a record high $3,150 a troy ounce. Gold is considered a safe haven amid economic turmoil and a hedge against inflation. The yellow metal is up almost 20% this year and on track for its best quarter since 1986, according to FactSet data.

Tariffs have helped put stocks in a slump

Heading into this year, US stocks had been at record highs, with some strategists questioning how much room was to left to rally. Analysts had expected Trump to usher in a pro-business boom, enabling the stock market to continue its historic run. However, Trump’s commitment to an economic agenda that prioritizes tariffs has left some investors perplexed. Trump has not given markets the same attention as he did in his first term, while investors have had to reckon with other factors on top of tariffs, such as debates over the value of the artificial intelligence boom. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 10.4% this year, posting its worst quarter since June 2022 and worst start to a year since 2020. As Wednesday approaches, investors are still uncertain about the extent of the tariffs — and businesses and consumers are bracing for impact. Trump on Saturday told NBC News that he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raise prices because of tariffs. “The administration cites fairer trade relationships as the goal, with reciprocity the governing principle for implementing tariffs. But beyond that, little is known about what this policy will entail,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a Monday note. “This isn’t exactly reassuring to investors we talk to, who are perplexed by the dynamic of tariff announcements, negotiations, delays and shifting levels of implementation for Mexico, Canada, China and some key products,” the analysts said. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to an intraday low of 4.2% as investors snapped up bonds before settling around 4.24%, slightly below its previous close, as stocks rallied. “The comments leading up to this are still a lot of mixed messages and so the uncertainty level is still high, and nobody really knows what to expect,” said Thomas Martin, a senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. “We’re going to get an announcement and and we’re still not going to have clarity. And I think that’s the main thing we’re going to be living with for a while,” Martin said. Global markets have similarly been shaken by Trump’s tariffs. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 tumbled more than 4% on Monday and closed in correction territory, down 10% for the first quarter. Taiwan’s benchmark index tumbled 4.2% and closed down 10% for this quarter. In Europe, the STOXX 600 index sank 1.5%. Germany’s DAX index fell 1.33%. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, surged higher Monday morning. “Extreme fear” was the sentiment driving markets on Monday, according to CNN’s Fear and Greed Index. Markets in March were driven by “extreme fear” on 16 trading days, the most in any month over the past year. “Its all about the tariff uncertainty and how much tariffs and counter measures will be announced,” said Mohit Kumar, chief economist and strategist for Europe at Jefferies, in a note Monday.

European markets were higher on Tuesday, staging a broad rebound as global investors brace for U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs set to come into effect on Wednesday. The regional Stoxx 600 index was trading 1.15% higher at 10:12 a.m. in London, extending gains after euro zone inflation cooled as expected to 2.2% in March, according to data released by Eurostat. The Stoxx 600 is coming off four straight daily declines and a 1.5% loss in the prior session, mired by tariff uncertainty, as well as its first monthly loss of 2025. Asia-Pacific markets climbed overnight and U.S. stock futures slipped on Tuesday morning as the market awaited clarity from Trump regarding his tariff policy rollout on Wednesday. A slew of tariffs are set to come into effect, including a 25% levy on “all cars that are not made in the United States.” The president is also expected to announce his plan for reciprocal tariffs. The Trump administration has dubbed April 2 “Liberation Day.” Trump said this week that his reciprocal tariffs plan will target all countries when they are announced Wednesday.

March employment data is on tap this week, but investors and other market watchers may be watching other events coming out of Washington even more closely. A slew of new trade policies could be outlined on Wednesday, while some of President Donald Trump’s previously outlined tariffs are set to take effect early Thursday morning. As the president’s plans have evolved in recent weeks, markets have been roiled. An update to the U.S. trade deficit is also expected Thursday, and investors will be watching factory orders data and manufacturing and services sector survey updates during the week to look for impacts from U.S. tariff policies amid continued market volatility. Market watchers also will be following the corporate earnings calendar, which includes food sellers Conagra Brands (CAG)  and Lamb Weston (LW), clothing retailers Guess (GES) and Calvin Klein parent PVH Corp. (PVH), and furniture store RH (RH). Monday, March 31

• Chicago Business Barometer (March)
• Loar Holdings (LOAR) and PVH Corp. are scheduled to report earnings

Tuesday, April 1

• S&P manufacturing PMI (March)
• Construction spending (February)
• ISM manufacturing PMI (March)
• Job openings (February)
• Ncino (NCNO) is scheduled to report earnings

Wednesday, April 2

• ADP employment (March)
• Factory orders (February)
• RH, UniFirst (UNF), and BlackBerry (BB) are scheduled to report earnings

Thursday, April 3

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending March 29)
• U.S. trade deficit (February)
• S&P U.S. Services PMI (March)
• ISM Services PMI (March)
• Conagra Brands, Acuity (AYI), Lamb Weston, and Guess are scheduled to report earnings

Friday, April 4

• U.S. employment report (March)
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak in Arlington, Virginia

Spotlight on March Employment Numbers, U.S. Trade Policy and Data

The latest employment data for March, expected trade news, and manufacturing and services sector data are in focus this week as investors continue to eye the impact that U.S. tariffs may have. Investors will be watching Friday’s scheduled jobs report amid continued strength in the labor market, which the Federal Reserve cited when it decided not to lower interest rates at its March meeting.  Job growth in February came in short of expectations, and unemployment ticked slightly higher to 4.1%, but last month showed that momentum continued in the labor market despite the headwinds of high interest rates. Job openings data, expected on Tuesday, the ADP private-sector hiring report, scheduled for Wednesday, and Thursday’s calendar item of weekly initial jobless claims are other employment-based economic indicators that market participants will be following this week. Wednesday will be a big day for trade policy as President Trump is expected to unveil his plan for reciprocal tariffs and provide more details on other policies. Some previously outlined tariffs are set to take effect early Thursday morning. You can keep track of all of the tariff proposals and implementation here. An update to the U.S. trade deficit comes amid market tensions over Trump’s tariff policies, which threaten to add costs and invite retaliatory taxes in response. Recent trade balance data showed that the U.S. trade gap with its trading partners was growing ahead of expected import taxes. Factory orders data on Wednesday follows last week’s report that durable goods orders were on the rise. Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data scheduled to be released this week will show whether the struggling manufacturing sector is picking up in light of Trump’s proposed tariffs.

Clothing, Food, Furniture Sellers’ Earnings Reports Come as Investors Watch Consumer Health

With consumer confidence wavering, scheduled earnings reports from retail and food companies will likely provide investors with some insight into the public’s appetite for spending and the impact of potential U.S. tariffs. Investors will be looking for consumer spending trends in the scheduled reports on Monday from clothing maker PVH Corp., whose brands include Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and from Guess on Thursday. The fourth-quarter reports come as retailers had another strong holiday season in 2024 but have begun tempering their outlooks for 2025 amid tariff threats and softening consumer spending. PVH is also contending with potential trade restrictions with China. Food sales are also in focus this week, with frozen dinner maker Conagra Brands and potato seller Lamb Weston both scheduled to report on Thursday. Conagra, whose products include Duncan Hines mixes, Healthy Choice prepared meals, and Birds Eye frozen vegetables, recently warned investors that its sales could be lower due to difficulties sourcing enough chicken and frozen produce. Lamb Weston’s report comes as activist investor Jana Partners seeks changes at the company, which reported surprising losses, a lowered outlook, and a change in leadership in its prior quarterly update. Furniture retailer RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, is scheduled to report Wednesday after it raised its full-year outlook and swung to a profit last quarter, despite contending with a weak housing market.

Last year, artificial intelligence (AI) stocks were skyrocketing in value. Over the first three months of 2025, however, many of these growth superstars saw their valuations cut severely. If you’ve been waiting to buy AI stocks at a discount, these two companies are your best bets right now.

Every AI investor should own this stock

If you’re adding AI stocks to your portfolio, strongly consider adding Nvidia (NVDA -1.51%). If you already own Nvidia stock, consider buying even more. When it comes to companies that will benefit from the AI revolution, Nvidia is king. You may already know why Nvidia is the king of the AI revolution. The company produces GPUs, critical components that make developing, training, and executing AI services possible. Not only is Nvidia a supplier of critical components to the AI industry, but it is in many ways the preferred supplier. Its chips, despite being priced at a premium, can perform better than the competition thanks to early investment by Nvidia’s management team. While estimates vary, most peg Nvidia with at least a 90% market share in data center GPUs, one of the biggest verticals to support the AI industry. Since 2025 began, Nvidia stock fell nearly 20% in value. Shares are still expensive at 21 times sales, but remember: The AI revolution is just getting started. Not only does Nvidia have a heavy lead on the competition, giving it more investable resources to maintain its edge. But it also has impressive vendor lock-in through developer environments like CUDA, an architecture that allows customers to customize Nvidia chips to their specific needs, making it more likely that they will stick with Nvidia’s ecosystem. With sales expected to grow by 57% this year and another 24% next year, Nvidia stock is still “cheap” for investors willing to stomach the upfront premium, allowing long-term growth rates to make that premium look like a steal in hindsight.

Get maximum growth with this tiny AI business

Nvidia should be a core part of every AI investor’s portfolio. But as a multitrillion-dollar business, Nvidia’ growth potential is somewhat capped due to sheer size constraints. If you want maximum upside potential — I’m talking about 1,000% or more — consider a smaller AI competitor like SoundHound AI (SOUN -4.22%). Unlike Nvidia, SoundHound isn’t a supplier to the AI industry. Instead, it’s more of a pure-play AI company. In a nutshell, its business model relies on creating AI services that deal with sound. For instance, fast-food chains might want to replace drive-thru operators with AI agents. Or, more commonly, a business might replace human customer support agents with agents powered by artificial intelligence. Even your car is a potential use case, with AI increasingly being integrated into vehicle sound systems to allow you to chat with your car about maintenance needs, music requests, or hands-free calls and texts.

NVDA PS Ratio data by YCharts SoundHound has been in business for two decades, and has amassed several hundred patents. But its business isn’t just theoretical. Dozens of well-known brands have signed up as customers to pilot the technology, allowing the company to grow sales considerably in recent quarters. Sales growth next quarter is expected to top 166% — more than double Nvidia’s growth rate. Of course, investors must pay for these higher growth rates with a higher price-to-sales ratio. But with a market cap of just $3.5 billion, it’s very reasonable to expect SoundHound to grow at these rates for far longer than Nvidia can manage. I still have some major concerns with the company’s long-term competitiveness. Big tech is investing a lot into AI, including the audio category that SoundHound specializes in. With a research and development budget of just $70 million per year, it’s not clear that SoundHound can beat the multibillion-dollar budgets that big tech competitors have over the long term. But if you’re looking for maximum growth potential despite a bit of added risk, SoundHound is a great speculative bet.

Last November, Hudson Bay Capital released a 41-page document that outlined a plan to restructure the global trading system with a juicy premise for Wall Street. Complicated and dense, “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System” touches on everything from US debt to interest rates to re-shoring of US manufacturing but with a central idea of a “Mar-a-Lago accord” built around tackling dollar “overvaluation” and what author Stephen Miran wrote could be “a 21st Century version of a multilateral currency agreement.” “Many argue that tariffs are highly inflationary,” he wrote at another point, but “that not need be the case,” especially if currency issues are also addressed. The idea quickly gained steam on Wall Street, with prominent backers on Wall Street like Jim Bianco of Bianco Research urging investors to read it. Bianco said in February it was a signal that the young administration is “thinking very big,” as he put it on a podcast called MacroVoices. The thesis was also bolstered by Miran’s subsequent selection to head Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, a sort of in-house think tank at the White House. The issue, at least so far? That fuller plan outlined in the paper has been belied by the administration’s own actions since taking office. President Trump is clearly aiming to upend the global trading system and is full speed ahead on one side of Miran’s thesis — the implementation of tariffs — but has put the corollary currency piece on ice and even offered some skeptical comments since taking office. Miran himself acknowledged as much in a series of recent comments. He told the Washington Post recently, “Anyone thinking what I wrote in November is the policy agenda we’re secretly implementing right now is just looking for something to write about.” He added to Bloomberg of his ideas that “some of them are easy, some are tough,” and downplayed the importance of his paper, saying instead that Trump is “solely” focused on tariffs right now. Yet the paper has remained a source of positivity, even as Bianco said from the get-go it could never happen. Miran even wrote about tariffs being a first priority before policy “becomes dollar negative.” It was cited often by those needing a silver lining amid the current uncertainty of market volatility, sticky inflation, and nervousness about the possibility of a recession as Trump touts his coming April 2 “Liberation Day” plans. Columbia University historian Adam Tooze went so far in a recent Substack post as to compare the continued market focus on Miran’s paper with Stockholm Syndrome, the psychological phenomenon where a hostage develops positive feelings toward their captor. “Call it Mar-a-Lago (Accord) Syndrome,” Tooze wrote.

What Miran laid out

Miran in his paper argued that tackling the currency question could rebound in America’s favor on a variety of fronts — from the national debt to national security arrangements to providing a boost to US businesses. The goal is to ensure the dollar remains supreme as a global reserve currency while at same time correcting what he viewed as an “overvalued dollar” that makes US manufacturing less competitive. The US, he argued, could convince other countries to help with that devaluation in exchange for security guarantees or a pledge to drop punitive tariffs — what he called the “multilateral” approach to a new trading landscape but one that it’s very unclear other countries would go along with willingly. He also wrote in detail about how the administration could, if needed, unilaterally act “if it is willing to be creative” to address the problem of undervalued foreign currencies — pointing to possible measures in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). But it’s a detail that has perhaps unwittingly underlined Trump’s focus elsewhere so far in his second presidency. The president has indeed relied on IEEPA law for dramatic actions in his early weeks in office — but almost solely the tariff provisions in the law, to impose tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, without significant action on currency. And in another recent appearance, on CNBC, Miran didn’t weigh in on currency at all and even sounded firmly in line with Trump’s overall message of downplaying any economic effects from tariffs. “My view is that the country on which we are imposing those tariffs ultimately pays those tariffs as opposed to having any negative economic consequence on the United States,” he offered.

Competing impulses from Trump

Trump likes to promise to keep aloft “the mighty U.S. Dollar” and maintain its status as the global reserve currency. But in other settings, Trump has suggested an openness to a devaluation case and acknowledged in a campaign interview that the gap between the US and other currencies has created a “tremendous burden” on companies. In any case, a meaningful push for currency measures or devaluation hasn’t emerged from the White House so far even as Wall Street interest has remained high. In his recent comments to Bloomberg, Miran seemed amused that he was still being asked about the paper as he downplayed its chances in the near term. It’s “taken on a life of its own, against all my intents,” he quipped. But hope perhaps springs eternal, with Miran adding of the currency side of the equation, “Could it be something that is entertained down the road? Sure.”

Over the last five weeks, Wall Street has reminded investors that stocks can move in both directions. Although the widely followed Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and innovation-inspired Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) are still firmly in respective bull markets, there was a brief period where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dipped into correction territory — i.e., a decline of at least 10% from a recent high. While there are a few concerns that have investors’ attention at the moment, including a forecasted contraction in first-quarter gross domestic product, along with the historic priciness of stocks, perhaps the prevailing issue for the stock market is President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Trump has touted what he calls “Liberation Day” as a key milestone for the U.S. in its fight to make foreign trade fair. The question is: Will the president’s tariff proposals perpetuate a stock market crash? Interestingly enough, history offers a clear answer.

What, exactly, is Liberation Day?

Before digging into a data-driven analysis of how stocks perform when tariffs are implemented, let’s lay the foundation of what tariffs are, why they’re being leaned on by President Trump, and what Liberation Day might entail. Put simply, a tariff is a tax added to an imported or exported good. Tariffs are commonly placed on imports from foreign countries, with the goal to protect domestic jobs and/or make domestically manufactured goods more price-competitive. If finished goods imported into the U.S. become notably pricier, it might encourage businesses to shift their manufacturing to the U.S., or at the very least entice consumers to buy American-made goods. In a March 21 post to his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump stated:

April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!! For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Thus, Liberation Day (April 2) represents the date where Trump will institute potentially broad-ranging tariffs on countries that have persistent trade imbalances with the U.S. As of this writing in the early morning hours of March 25, the details of which goods or countries will be subject to tariffs via Liberation Day remain fluid. While April 2 was initially viewed as a date that sweeping global tariffs might take effect, weekend reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg intimate that tariffs will be far more targeted than initially anticipated.

Will Liberation Day allow the bears to run wild on Wall Street?

Considering how volatile the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have been during the early innings implementation of tariffs on China, as well as aluminum and steel imports, it raises questions about what might happen to stocks when Liberation Day arrives. Thankfully, history provides a very big clue. In December, four economists at Liberty Street Economics — Liberty Street provides research and analysis for the New York Federal Reserve — published a report (Do Import Tariffs Protect U.S. Firms?) that examined the various impacts Trump’s China tariffs had on stocks and publicly traded companies during his first term in office. Perhaps the least-surprising of all takeaways is that public companies exposed to Trump’s China tariffs in 2018-2019 did worse than those not exposed on the days these duties were announced. Wall Street likes predictability, and there’s no telling what impact an added tax could have on a company’s margins or demand for its products. Additionally, Liberty Street Economics observed an adverse correlation between tariffs and future outcomes for public companies with exposure to the U.S.-China trade war. In particular, companies that fared poorly on tariff announcement days, on average, saw their profits, employment, sales, and labor productivity all decline from 2019 to 2021. Lastly, the four economists were quick to point out the difference input versus output tariffs had on U.S. businesses during the U.S.-China trade war. “Output” tariffs are duties placed on finished goods imported into the U.S. While this type of tariff often leads to reciprocal duties from other countries, it’s as straightforward as it gets. Meanwhile, an “input” tariff is an added tax placed on an imported good used to manufacture a finished product in the U.S. This type of tariff can make domestic goods pricier and hurt U.S. businesses. President’s Trump’s tariff policy hasn’t historically paid much attention to this difference between output and input tariffs. Based on Liberty Street Economics’ data-driven analysis, a stock market crash isn’t likely. However, the uncertainty created by tariffs does tend to lead to modest weakness in the equities exposed to said tariffs. In other words, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq could all take the escalator lower.

Uncertainty begets opportunity on Wall Street

If history were to rhyme for the stock market, a heightened period of volatility and weakness have arrived. Until there’s clarity from President Trump on tariffs and/or trade deals in place, it’s not far-fetched to expect uncertainty to drive equity valuations lower. But it’s important to note that, when given ample time, uncertainty begets opportunity on Wall Street. Inclusive of the latest 10.1% peak-to-trough decline in the benchmark S&P 500, it’s endured 40 corrections of at least 10% since the start of 1950, based on data from Yardeni Research. This works out to a correction occurring, on average, every 1.88 years. In short, downturns are probably more common than you might realize. Something else that’s incredibly common but might be flying under the radars of investors is the undeniable nonlinearity of investing cycles. In June 2023, the analysts at Bespoke Investment Group published a data set on social media platform X that explored the length of every bull and bear market in the S&P 500 dating back to the start of the Great Depression (September 1929). What this data set depicted was the night-and-day difference between optimism and pessimism on Wall Street. On one hand, the average 20% (or greater) downturn in the broad-based index lasted for 286 calendar days. Further, no S&P 500 bear market endured longer than 630 calendar days, with only nine out of 27 bear markets topping one year (365 calendar days) in length. On the other side of the coin, the typical bull market stuck around for a considerably longer 1,011 calendar days. Additionally, a third of these 27 bear markets spanning 94 years ranged from 1,324 calendar days to 4,494 calendar days in length. Even without ever knowing ahead of time when stock market corrections will begin, how long they’ll last, or where the bottom will be, this data set from Bespoke demonstrates the power of optimism and patience on Wall Street. If President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs sink the stock market, it would represent the perfect opportunity for long-term investors to pounce.

Just this week, Tesla boasted as anxieties swirled over tariffs on automobiles. “Btw, Teslas are the most American-made cars,” the official Tesla account posted on X on Sunday. That’s true, at least according to one measure. The company has dominated Car.com’s American-Made Index since 2021, based on criteria including assembly location, where the parts are made, engine origin, transmission origin and US manufacturing workforce. “Tesla’s manufacturing, both as location of final assembly and the componentry of the vehicles, is all as high (a score on the index) as you could possibly get for a US-made vehicle,” Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for the Cars.com index, told CNN. Tesla’s American-produced cars could partially protect the company from the new auto tariffs, which industry experts say will raise car prices for consumers by the thousands. The 25% tariffs, which were announced Wednesday, will affect all imported cars and car parts beginning April 3. Analysts maintain that the EV maker will be largely shielded, unlike other American automakers like General Motors, which has factories in Mexico. But car manufacturing “is a complicated process, and no one’s going to be immune from these tariffs,” Masterson said.Even US-made cars depend on parts from Mexico and Canada, thanks to free trade agreements. Although Tesla produces 100% of its vehicles in the United States at its Texas and California factories, there is truly no 100% “American-made” car — as Musk himself contended Wednesday after the tariffs announcement. “Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here,” Musk posted on X. “The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”

As ‘American-made’ as you can get

Tesla hasn’t publicly said how much its cars depend on international parts. An October 2024 document from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 20% to 25% of components for all Tesla cars were imported, though it did not specify from which countries. Between 60% to 75% of components were made in the US or Canada, according to the document. Cars.com didn’t have data on where specific components are made, but Masterson said Tesla’s “final assembly, engine country of origin, the battery country of origin” are all based in the United States. And for now at least, car parts made in the US or Canada are grouped together, as part of the American Automobile Labeling Act, even though Trump’s tariffs target Canada as well. “Tesla in particular is known to source a greater proportion of components installed on its US-built vehicles in comparison to other automakers (both foreign and domestic) producing vehicles in the U.S.,” analysts at JP Morgan said in a note, which pointed out that Tesla and fellow EV maker Rivian would be the least impacted among carmakers. However, Wolfe Research predicted Thursday a potential annual headwind of $1.6 billion for Tesla, primarily because of the car components made in Mexico.

A small win for Tesla in EV race

The tariffs give Tesla a boost in the electric vehicle competition, especially among its unionized American rivals — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. “In the electric vehicle segment, tariffs are a boon to fiercely anti-union Tesla, which will benefit from the disarray of competitors (including the Big Three) who need time to rethink production strategies and retool factories. Any new automotive jobs will be overwhelmingly nonunion,” Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations research professor Ian Greer said over email. In another sign of a potential turnaround, Tesla’s flailing stock is staging somewhat of a comeback, closing higher Wednesday for the sixth straight day, though it dipped again by the end of the week. Meanwhile, shares of Stellantis, Ford and General Motors all fell in after-hours trading after the tariffs announcement Wednesday. While Tesla may experience a bump in the United States, its CEO, Elon Musk, still faces sharp scrutiny for his outsized role in the federal government as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Sales have fallen sharply in Europe and China due to an influx of competition, and even the used Tesla market is floundering.

US stocks tanked on Friday as Wall Street grappled with President Trump’s escalating trade war and weighed signs of reinvigorated inflation pressures amid souring consumer sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped more than 700 points or nearly 1.7%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell almost 2%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped 2.7% as tech stocks led the declines. The major averages fell on Friday after the release of a hotter-than-expected Personal Consumption Expenditures index reading, which includes the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge of “core” PCE. The reading showed prices increased more than expected last month, rising 0.4% month over month and 2.8% year over year, continuing a stubborn plateau on the path to the Fed’s 2% target. Meanwhile, US consumer sentiment in March plummeted to its lowest level since November 2022. The latest reading from the University of Michigan came in at 57, down from a 64.7 reading in the prior month, as consumers fretted about inflation and the broader economy, perhaps most notably in the labor market. On Friday President Trump said he had a “very good talk” with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, his first conversation with him since Carney was elected earlier this month. When asked about tariffs however, the president said he will “absolutely” follow through with levies against the country. Stocks have had a roller coaster week, starting off on a high on hopes that Trump would temper his tariff plans and then abruptly diving beginning on Wednesday upon news of new duties on auto imports. Markets continued to slide Thursday as Wall Street digested Trump’s 25% levies on foreign cars along with more hawkish comments on what lies ahead in the trade war. April 2, the date when broad reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect, is looming large. Fed officials have projected higher inflation and slower economic growth amid new tariffs, though Fed Chair Jerome Powell has reassured Wall Street that rising prices will likely be “transitory.” But Powell’s words are fading into the background as Trump’s trade war escalates and more Fed officials say they aren’t exactly sure where the economy goes next, with one policymaker describing the situation as “zero visibility” in a “dense fog.” The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow index now forecasts that US gross domestic product (GDP) will fall 2.8% in the first quarter, compared to a previous projection of a 1.8% decline released two days ago.

CoreWeave on Thursday said it priced shares at $40 in the company’s IPO, raising $1.5 billion in the biggest U.S. tech offering since 2021. The company, which provides access to Nvidia graphics processing units for artificial intelligence training and workloads, had planned to sell shares for between $47 and $55 each. At the top end of the range, that would’ve valued CoreWeave at about $26.5 billion, based on Class A and Class B shares outstanding. The offering is down from 49 million shares to 37.5 million, CoreWeave said in a statement. Bloomberg was first to report on the $40 price. At that level, CoreWeave’s valuation will be closer to $19 billion, though the market cap will be higher on a fully diluted basis. Earlier on Thursday, CNBC reported that Nvidia, one of CoreWeave’s largest shareholders, was targeting a $250 million order at $40 per share. CoreWeave’s shares are set to start trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker symbol “CRWV.” The IPO is a major test for tech startups and the venture capital market after an extended lull in new offerings dating back to the beginning of 2022, when soaring inflation and rising interest rates pushed investors out of risky assets. Other tech-related companies that have filed to go public in recent weeks include digital health startup Hinge Health, online lender Klarna and ticketing marketplace StubHub. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that chat app maker Discord is working on an IPO. The last venture-backed tech company that raised at least $1 billion for a U.S. IPO was Freshworks in 2021. Last year Reddit and Rubrik each raised about $750 million in their offerings. After Donald Trump’s election victory in November, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he expected renewed IPO activity, but President Trump’s imposition of tariffs in recent weeks added uncertainty to economic forecasts and led to increased volatility to tech stocks. CoreWeave counts Microsoft as its biggest customer by far. Other clients include Meta, IBM and Cohere. Revenue soared more than 700% last year to almost $2 billion, but the company recorded a net loss of $863 million. CoreWeave’s model is capital intensive, requiring hefty purchases of equipment and expenditures on real estate. A week after filing to go public, CoreWeave announced a contract with OpenAI worth up to $11.9 billion over five years. OpenAI agreed to buy $350 million in CoreWeave stock as part of the deal. CoreWeave is trying to compete with some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google, the three leading providers of public cloud infrastructure in the U.S.

After GameStop closed about a quarter of its locations within the past year, shuttering 1,000 stores across the world, the company said it’s not close to done. And as the struggling company closes stores, it will invest cash in cryptocurrencies. GameStop revealed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it expects to close a “significant number” of additional locations in the coming months, although the “specific set of stores has not been identified for closure.” A majority of the closures occurred in its biggest market, the United States, with 590 locations shutting down and reducing its store count to 2,325 as of February 1. More than 330 locations closed across Europe, plus nearly 50 stores in Canada and Australia. Globally, 3,203 GameStops remain — down drastically from its peak of about 6,000 a decade ago. GameStop has closed hundreds of stores over the past several years because it has struggled to adapt to customers’ changing habits of buying games online and streaming. The company was also center of the “meme stock” craze in 2021, which briefly boosted its stock. GameStop joins a number of other well-known retailers closing stores or completely disappearing, including Joann, Forever 21, Kohl’s and Macy’s. Among the reasons contributing to the retail exodus is continuing inflationary pressure on consumers’ wallets, pressure from private equity and retailers not quickly adapting to changing shopping habits. As part of GameStop’s pivot away from retail, the company also said that it’s getting into bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, announcing that a “portion of our cash or future debt and equity issuances” might be invested in the digital currency. “The pivot to bitcoin is really a defense against irrelevance,” Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail told CNN, adding that it’s “an odd thing as it’s basically saying the strategy isn’t retail but to act as some kind of cryptocurrency investment vehicle.” Nevertheless, the crypto announcement helped juice the stock: GameStop (GME) shares soared 16% in premarket trading Wednesday.