The U.S. stock market has stumbled in recent weeks as the Trump administration imposed tariffs on goods imported from Canada, China, and Mexico, potentially starting a trade war. The market has been especially volatile because the White House has wavered on its trade policy, first imposing duties and then delaying or changing the terms. The market dislikes uncertainty. The three major U.S. stock indexes are down more than 5% from their highs as of March 6: The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.55%) has slipped 6.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.52%) has declined 5.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.70%) has tumbled 10.4%. Importantly, the Nasdaq has officially entered market correction territory, meaning it has fallen at least 10% from its most recent bull market high. Fortunately, the index has historically bounced back very quickly. While there are no guarantees, here’s what usually happens next.

The Nasdaq Composite has historically rebounded quickly after closing in correction territory

The Nasdaq Composite measures the performance of more than 3,000 companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The index is most heavily weighted toward the information technology and consumer discretionary sectors, and is commonly regarded as a benchmark for growth stocks. As mentioned, the Nasdaq on March 6 closed more than 10% below its most recent bull market high of 20,174, a level the index reached less than three months earlier on Dec. 16. That means the Nasdaq has entered a stock market correction, something it has done a dozen other times since 2010. The chart below lists each date since 2010 when the Nasdaq first closed in correction territory. It also shows how the index performed over the next 12 months.

Nasdaq Closes in Correction Territory	12-Month Return
May 7, 2010	25%
Aug. 4, 2011	16%
May 18, 2012	26%
Nov. 14, 2012	40%
Aug. 24, 2015	15%
Oct. 24, 2018	15%
June 3, 2019	32%
Feb. 27, 2020	54%
Sept. 8, 2020	41%
March 8, 2021	2%
Jan. 19, 2022	(24%)
Aug. 2, 2024*	8%
Average	21%

Since 2010, the Nasdaq has returned an average of 21% during the 12-month period following its first close in correction territory. Comparatively, the index has returned 15% annually over the entire period. That means the Nasdaq has historically produced above average returns following its first close in a market correction. Importantly, past performance is no guarantee of future results. But we can use the information above to make an educated guess about how the Nasdaq might perform in the next year. Specifically, the index closed at 18,069 on March 6, so it would advance 21% to 21,863 in the next year if its performance aligns with the historical average.

The Nasdaq Composite may continue to fall due to uncertainty about trade policy

The tariffs proposed by the Trump administration as of Feb. 27 would increase the average tax on U.S. imports to 13.8%, according to one estimate, the highest level since 1939. Several duties have already taken effect, rattling the stock market. Businesses can either absorb the cost increases or pass them to buyers. Margins fall in the first scenario, and sales likely fall in the second scenario. Either way, tariffs probably hurt corporate earnings. However, investors are particularly nervous because the Trump administration has waffled back and forth on its trade policy. It planned to impose tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico on Feb. 4, but delayed duties on Canadian and Mexican imports until March 4. The administration then adjusted the terms on March 6, such that goods in compliance with the free trade agreement are exempt until April 2. That whipsawing on trade policy has created uncertainty, and the stock market will likely remain volatile until that uncertainty dissipates. But investors can take solace in this indisputable fact: The Nasdaq Composite has recovered from every correction and there is no reason to believe this one will be different. That means the current drawdown is a buying opportunity.

Seven & i Holdings, the parent of 7-Eleven, said Thursday it will replace CEO Ryuichi Isaka with lead independent outside director Stephen Dacus, making a foreigner the top executive for the first time, according to domestic media. Dacus will take charge from Isaka on May 27, according to a company filing. Seven & i said that Isaka will remain as senior adviser to the company. Dacus was the head of the company’s special committee that is evaluating a $47-billion takeover bid from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard. He was announced to have stepped down from the committee on March 5, and independent outside director Paul Yonamine replaced him. The convenience store operator also announced a share buyback of 2 trillion yen ($13.2 billion) and plans to list its North American subsidiary, 7-Eleven Inc. The company said that it will hold a majority stake in the subsidiary which will be listed in the second half of 2026. Shares of Seven & i ended the day up 6.11%, as reports about the impending changes emerged on Thursday. Seven & i also provided an update on the takeover bid by Canada’s Couche-Tard, saying that the special committee formed to review the proposal “has been committed to exploring all value creation opportunities, including active and constructive engagement with ACT and will continue to do so.” It said a consistent hurdle that the Couche-Tard proposal needed to resolve is addressing “the serious U.S. antitrust challenges that any transaction would face.” Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Isaka said “there has been no meaningful progress on finding a solution of the U.S. antitrust challenges” regarding the Couche-Tard bid, according to a Reuters translation. Dacus then added that he doesn’t know “if Couche-Tard can improve our company value,” adding that there was a “very high regulatory hurdle”, particularly in the U.S. However, the company revealed it has been working with Couche-Tard to put together a “potential divestiture package” that could operate effectively and assure competition between Couche-Tard and the buyer of the divested stores, even after a transaction. The $47-billion bid by Couche-Tard is the only active bid for Seven and i, after a management buyout attempt by the founding family failed to secure the financing needed to take over the convenience store operator last week.

Sale of business units

Other actions the company also announced are that it will sell its superstore business group — consisting of supermarkets — to investment company Bain Capital for 814.7 billion yen ($5.37 billion), with the transaction expected to be completed in September 2025. Bain Capital then plans to list Seven & i’s supermarket business in about three years after boosting synergies within the group, according to a Reuters report. Seven & i also plans to reduce its stake of banking services arm Seven Bank by selling down its stake to below 40%. Seven Bank will also then be deconsolidated from the company’s balance sheet. Seven & i said the share buyback will be funded by proceeds from the sale of its superstore business group and the IPO of 7-Eleven Inc. These buybacks will commence when the sale is completed, and are expected to conclude by the company’s 2030 financial year. A dividend policy will also be implemented, the company said, adding that “it will continue to maintain or increase per share dividend amount over time for cashflow generated from ordinary business operation.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s sell-off kicked back into gear on Thursday, and a U.S. stock market rattled by the whiplash created by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and uncertainty about the economy fell sharply. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.8% to resume its slide after a mini-recovery from the prior day clawed back some of its sharp drop over recent weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 427 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.6% to finish more than 10% below its record set in December. Stocks fell even though President Trump offered a one-month reprieve from his 25% tariffs on many goods imported from Mexico and Canada. That’s unlike the bounce stocks got the prior day from his giving a one-month exemption specifically for automakers. All the moves keep hope alive that Trump may be using tariffs as just a tool for negotiations rather than as a permanent policy and that he may ultimately avoid a worst-case trade war that grinds down economies and sends inflation higher. But Trump is still pressing ahead with other tariffs scheduled to take effect April 2. And the growing pile of dizzying back-and-forth moves on tariffs is only amping up the uncertainty. It was just on Monday that Trump said there was “no room” left for negotiations to avert the tariffs on Mexico and Canada that took effect Tuesday. “These exemptions don’t do much to resolve the general air of uncertainty,” said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management. “Businesses will still be cautious in the current environment until a lot more of the tariff picture is clear.” U.S. businesses are already saying they’re confronting “chaos” because of all the uncertainty coming out of Washington. while U.S. households are bracing for higher inflation because of the tariffs, which is sapping their confidence. “Much will depend on whether these new tariffs prove temporary or are toned down,” according to strategists at BNP Paribas. “But even if they are ultimately removed, we anticipate lasting damage to global economic activity.” When asked whether his delays on tariffs reflected the slump for the stock market, Trump said Thursday, “I’m not even looking at the market.” He earlier in the Oval Office blamed the falling prices on “globalist countries and companies that won’t be doing as well because we’re taking back things that have been taken from us many years ago.” Next up for Wall Street is a report coming Friday from the U.S. Labor Department on how many workers U.S. employers hired last month. A solid job market so far, along with the solid spending by U.S. households that it’s allowed, have been linchpins in preventing a recession. Economists are expecting to see an accleration in hiring for February. Some big retailers have been offering warning signals recently about how much U.S. consumers can keep spending. Macy’s on Thursday reported slightly weaker revenue for the end of 2024 than analysts expected, though its profit topped expectations. It also gave a forecast for profit in 2025 that fell short of analysts’. Its shares fell 0.7%. It was a similar story for Victoria’s Secret, which beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter sales and profit forecasts but gave a revenue forecast for the upcoming year that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Its stock fell 8.2%. Making things worse for the U.S. stock market, some of its biggest stars are seeing their glow dim. Semiconductor companies and their suppliers were particularly heavy weights, after soaring to staggering heights because of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Marvell Technology lost nearly a fifth of its value and dropped 19.8% even though it reported results for the latest quarter that edged past analysts’ forecasts. It also said it expects revenue growth in the current quarter of more than 60% from the prior year, give or take a bit. But that wasn’t enough for investors, who have grown used to AI-related companies trouncing expectations. The poster child of the AI boom, Nvidia, fell 5.7%, while Broadcom lost 6.3% ahead of the release of its earnings report. AI superstars had been dominating Wall Street for years and helped it run to record after record. But those soaring performances, including a nearly 820% surge for Nvidia from 2023 into 2024, had critics saying prices had grown too expensive. They’re also facing threats as Chinese companies develop their own AI offerings, with DeepSeek famously saying it didn’t need to use the industry’s most expensive chips. All told, the S&P 500 fell 104.11 points to 5,738.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 427.51 to 42,579.08. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 483.48 to 18,069.26. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe after the European Central Bank cut interest rates, as was widely expected. German stocks rallied 1.5% as the market continues to feel reverberations from an agreement by the two parties that will form the country’s next government to loosen constitutional limits on borrowing. It’s a major turnaround in German budget policy and opens the way for new borrowing and spending over the next decade. Stocks also rose in Asia, including jumps of 3.3% in Hong Kong and 1.2% in Shanghai. China’s commerce minister said Thursday that his country will not yield to bullying and that its economy can weather higher tariffs imposed by Trump, though he added that there are “no winners in a trade war.” In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.29% from 4.28% late Wednesday.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that his administration would not consider stock market reaction when hammering out the details of its tariff policy. When asked whether the decision to pause tariffs on many products from Canada and Mexico for one month was due to the stock market, Trump said the decision had “nothing to do with the market. I’m not even looking at the market, because long term the United States will be very strong with what is happening here.” “This is very much about companies and countries that have ripped off this country, our country, our beloved United States. And they’re not going to be ripping us off any more. So, you know, I think that has an impact on the market,” the president added. Trump made the remarks in the Oval Office on Thursday at an event for signing executive orders. Trump was later asked again about the market sell-off and blamed “globalists,” a term he had used to describe companies and countries earlier in the event. “I think it’s globalists that see how rich our country’s going to be and they don’t like it. Big market out there. But again, they’ve been ripping off this country for years. And they’re going to do great — everyone’s going to do great. But we can’t let this continue to happen to America. Otherwise we’re not going to have a country any longer,” the president said. The comments come as the stock market has struggled in recent days, with the major Wall Street averages heading for a losing week. On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite closed more than 10% below its recent high, putting the tech-heavy index into correction territory. Some on Wall Street have hoped that Trump, who was seen as friendly to business during his first term and as a candidate, would consider the stock market as something of an approval rating. This idea is sometimes called the “Trump put,” a play on options terminology that suggests the president would keep the stock market from falling too far. However, the Trump administration has continued to take an aggressive posture on trade in recent days even when it has seemingly sparked a sell-off in stocks, and Nomura economists said in a note that the reality of Trump’s first term casts doubt on the “Trump put” idea. Also on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Trump’s focus was broader than the daily moves of the stock market. “The president wants American growth and American prosperity, OK? And the fact that the stock market goes down half a percent or percent, it goes up half a percent or percent, that is not the driving force of our outcomes,” Lutnick said on CNBC Thursday. “The president is focused on rebuilding America, and you are going to see growth in America. … You’re going to see interest rates drop 1% or more. You’re going to see the stock market explode.”

SALT LAKE CITY — He has seen it before. Which is why, this time, Shane Stewart isn’t too worried about if the stock market will rebound. “It always does. It always has,” he said. “And I am 99.9% sure it always will.” Stewart is a longtime financial planner with Deseret Mutual Benefits Administrators and knows a lot of people are a little nervous after stocks dropped roughly 1,300 points in the past two days. However, he has advice for those wondering if they should take their money out of the market. “Really, it is a boring answer, I know, but it is always stay the course,” he said. “If you are properly diversified for a longer-term investment, then you are good.” Stewart said what is happening with the stock market now is uncertainty. Investors don’t like uncertainty, especially when the current administration is talking about tariffs with our closest trading partners. “This particular administration is really looking at a hard course correction from the prior administration. Sometimes, administrations will come in and do things gradually. This administration really hit the ground running on their changes, and so, it gives uncertainty. It gives everyone uncertainty,” said Stewart. “We are not sure where they are headed, and so the markets will react to that uncertainty. That’s what’s really happening right now is an administration with a very aggressive agenda, and whether you agree with that agenda or not, it doesn’t matter, it’s just that it’s aggressive.” Even though a country can impose a tariff on another country, the increased costs for goods get passed on to the consumer. Right now, no one knows exactly what tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China will do to American consumers. “That is probably one of the most uncertain things you can do to an economy because you’re not sure how the economy will react to the tariffs,” said Stewart. “The market doesn’t get into politics too much other than to see where the economy is heading, and that is what they are looking to find. I believe like every time that this happens, that once the market gets a little bit of certainty on where we are headed, that will help course correct.” However, Stewart feels while the market is down, it is a great time to invest more. In a way, he said, stocks right now are on sale. “Eventually those times will go back up and your money that you put in will go with it,” said Stewart. His best advice for the time being is to keep your money in the market and to look at the big picture when looking at your 401k savings. “I like to tell people, when in doubt, zoom out,” said Stewart. “It might look bad the past couple of days, but if you zoom out and look at the past year or two, most likely you will see that things look better.”

Stocks rose on Wednesday, staging a recovery rally after back-to-back losses as investors hoped that an exemption for automakers to President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs opened the floodgates for more concessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 43,006.59, regaining ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The S&P 500 added 1.12% to 5,842.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.46% to 18,552.73. Stocks took a leg up after the White House said it granted a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Stellantis surged more than 9%, while Ford and General Motors added more than 5% and 7%, respectively. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Trump was open to providing additional exemptions on the taxes. Traders see that “the administration is going to respond to market pressure,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, adding that the White House will “scramble” to adjust policy as needed. “This is further confirmation for investors who feel that way.” A sharp rally ensued in afternoon trading following the announcement. About three out of four S&P 500 members finished higher, while the small cap-focused Russell 2000 advanced about 1%. Tech stocks such as Microsoft and Tesla also popped in the session, marking a turn after the sector led the market’s recent drawdown. Still, uncertainty lingered as Trump said Canada’s fentanyl efforts were “not good enough” in a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The three indexes swung between positive and negative territory Wednesday before the announcement of delays for automakers, underscoring the heightened market volatility as investors tracked the status of tariff policy. Trump’s levies — and subsequent announcements of retaliatory plans from China, Mexico and Canada — have rocked markets this week, with stocks down in the prior two sessions. Even with Wednesday’s respite, the three major indexes are still all down more than 1% week to date. Stocks rose on Wednesday, staging a recovery rally after back-to-back losses as investors hoped that an exemption for automakers to President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs opened the floodgates for more concessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 43,006.59, regaining ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The S&P 500 added 1.12% to 5,842.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.46% to 18,552.73. Stocks took a leg up after the White House said it granted a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Stellantis surged more than 9%, while Ford and General Motors added more than 5% and 7%, respectively. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Trump was open to providing additional exemptions on the taxes. Traders see that “the administration is going to respond to market pressure,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, adding that the White House will “scramble” to adjust policy as needed. “This is further confirmation for investors who feel that way.” A sharp rally ensued in afternoon trading following the announcement. About three out of four S&P 500 members finished higher, while the small cap-focused Russell 2000 advanced about 1%. Tech stocks such as Microsoft and Tesla also popped in the session, marking a turn after the sector led the market’s recent drawdown. Still, uncertainty lingered as Trump said Canada’s fentanyl efforts were “not good enough” in a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The three indexes swung between positive and negative territory Wednesday before the announcement of delays for automakers, underscoring the heightened market volatility as investors tracked the status of tariff policy. Trump’s levies — and subsequent announcements of retaliatory plans from China, Mexico and Canada — have rocked markets this week, with stocks down in the prior two sessions. Even with Wednesday’s respite, the three major indexes are still all down more than 1% week to date.

The Stoxx 600 index was 1.64% higher at 9:58 a.m. U.K. time, following the broad downturn in global equities on Tuesday on tariff concerns. The Stoxx autos index, which tumbled nearly 6% in the previous session, rebounded by 3.4%. Utilities and food and beverage were among the sectors in the red. German stocks were the top performers regionally, with Frankfurt’s DAX index up nearly 3%. Top gainers included construction firm Hochtief, up 17%, manufacturer Kion Group, up 15.4%, the country’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank, up 9.7%, and Siemens Energy, up 9.6%. Regional defense names also continued their recent rally, with the Stoxx Aerospace and Defense index rising 3%. On Tuesday, Germany’s conservative alliance and the Social Democratic Party — the two groups expected to form the next coalition government following last month’s election — agreed to try to reform the constitutional debt brake system in order to enable defense spending in excess of 1% of GDP. Friedrich Merz, widely billed as likely to become the next chancellor of Europe’s largest economy, said they would also seek to create a 500 billion euro ($529 billion) credit-financed special infrastructure fund over ten years. Alterations or exemptions to the debt brake system have been seen as crucial as a way to allow fiscal loosening to boost Germany’s struggling economy and increase military spending in-step with other European countries. The step remains politically contentious. The yield on German 10-year bonds, seen as the euro zone benchmark, was more than 20 basis points higher at 2.681% following the news. The 2-year yield jumped more than 15%. The euro extended its late Tuesday gains by another 0.84% against the U.S. dollar, reaching its highest level for four months. “At this stage, it looks as if Germany will run budget deficits comfortably over 3% of GDP over the next couple of years rather than keeping the deficit at around 2.5% as we had previously assumed,” Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, said in a Tuesday note. He said the German announcement showed Merz was “prepared to act decisively” on the economy, but that the additional borrowing that will be needed to finance the extra spending would put upward pressure on Bund yields. Elsewhere, the introduction of fresh U.S. tariffs has been rattling global market sentiment amid concerns they will reignite inflation and escalate a global trade war. Wall Street has seen two days of declines as 25% duties on Canada and Mexico went into effect on Tuesday, as well as an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. All three countries have announced retaliatory measures. U.S. stock futures rose overnight, however, after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump “probably” will announce tariff compromise deals with Canada and Mexico on Wednesday.

A growth scare in the economy has accompanied worries over a resurgence in inflation, in turn potentially rekindling an ugly condition that the U.S. has not seen in 50 years. Fears over “stagflation” have come as President Donald Trump seems determined to slap tariffs on virtually anything that comes into the country at the same time that multiple indicators are pointing to a pullback in activity. That dual threat of higher prices and slower growth is causing angst among consumers, business leaders and policymakers, not to mention investors who have been dumping stocks and scooping up bonds lately. “Directionally, it is stagflation,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “It’s higher inflation and weaker economic growth that is the result of policy — tariff policy and immigration policy.” The phenomenon, not seen since the dark days of hyperinflation and sagging growth in the 1970s and early ’80s, has primarily manifested itself lately in “soft” data such as sentiment surveys and supply manager indexes. At least among consumers, long-run inflation expectations are at their highest level in almost 30 years while general sentiment is seeing multi-year lows. Consumer spending fell in January by its most in nearly four years, even though income rose sharply, according to a Commerce Department report Friday. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Manufacturing’s survey of purchase managers showed that factory activity barely expanded in February while new orders fell by the most in nearly five years and prices jumped by the highest monthly margin in more than a year. Following the ISM report, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow gauge of rolling economic data downgraded its projection for first quarter economic growth to an annualized decrease of 2.8%. If that holds up, it would be the first negative growth number since the first quarter of 2022 and the worst plunge since the Covid shutdown in early 2020. “Inflation expectations are up. People are nervous and uncertain about growth,” Zandi said. “Directionally, we’re moving toward stagflation, but we’re not going to get anywhere close to the stagflation we had in the ’70s and the ’80s because the Fed won’t allow it.” Indeed, markets are pricing in a greater chance the Fed will start cutting interest rates in June and could lop three-quarters of a percentage point off its key borrowing rate this year as a way to head off any economic slowdown. But Zandi thinks the Fed reaction might do just the opposite — raise rates to shut down inflation, in the vein of former Chair Paul Volcker, who aggressively hiked in the early ’80s and dragged the economy into recession. “If it looks like true stagflation with slow growth, they will sacrifice the economy,” he said.

Sell-off in stocks

The converging factors are causing waves on Wall Street, where stocks have been been in sell-off mode this month, erasing the gains that were made after Trump won election in November. Though the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell again Tuesday and is off about 4.5% through the early days of March, the selling hasn’t felt especially rushed and the CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge of market fear, was only around 23 Tuesday afternoon, not much above its long-term average. Markets were well off their session lows in afternoon trading. “This certainly isn’t the time to hit the panic button,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide. “At this point, I’m still in the camp that this is a healthy resetting of expectations.” However, it’s not just stocks that are showing signs of fear. Treasury yields have been tumbling in recent days after surging since September. The benchmark 10-year note yield has fallen to about 4.2%, off about half a percentage point from its January peak and below the 3-month note, a reliable recession indicator going back to World War II called an inverted yield curve. Yields move opposite to price, so falling yields indicate greater investor appetite for fixed income securities. Hackett said he fears a “vicious circle” of activity created by the swooning sentiment indicators that could turn into a full-blown crisis. Economists and business executives see the tariffs hitting prices for food, vehicles, electricity and an assortment of other items. Stagflation “certainly is something to pay attention to now, more than it’s been in a while,” he said. “We have to watch. This is such a collapse in sentiment and such a change in the way people are viewing things and the level of emotion is so elevated right now that it will start impacting behavior.”

White House sees ‘the greatest America’

For their part, White House officials are maintaining that short-term pain will be dwarfed by the long-term benefits tariffs will bring. Trump has touted the duties as way to create a stronger manufacturing base in the U.S., which is primarily a service-based economy. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged in a CNBC interview Tuesday that there “may well be short-term price movements. But in the long term, it’s going to be completely different.” Market-based inflation expectations are in line with that sentiment. One metric, which measures the spread between nominal 5-year Treasury yields against inflation, is at its lowest level in nearly two years. “This is going to be the greatest America. We’ll have a balanced budget. Interest rates will come smashing down, and I mean 100 basis points, 150 basis points lower,” Lutnick added. “This president is going to deliver all of those things and drive manufacturing here.” Likewise, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that “there’s going to be a transition period” and said the administration’s focus is on Main Street more than Wall Street. “Wall Street’s done great. Wall Street can continue to do fine, but we have a focus on small business and the consumer,” he said. ” We are going to rebalance the economy, we are going to bring manufacturing jobs home.” Important clues on where the economy is headed should come from Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. If the jobs count is good, it could reinforce the notion that the hard data has remained solid even as sentiment has shifted. But if the report shows that the labor market is softening while wages are holding higher, that could add to the stagflation chatter. “We have to be observant. There’s the potential that the stagflation term just by itself, by talking about it, can manifest some of it,” said Hackett, the Nationwide strategist. “I’m not in the we-are-in-a-period-of-stagnation camp, but that is the disaster scenario.”

March 3 (Reuters) – Defence stocks powered European shares to a record high on Monday, after expectations mounted of higher military spending in the region, and the prospect of a Ukraine peace proposal boosted sentiment. Germany’s blue-chip index (.GDAXI), opens new tab logged its biggest one-day jump since November 2022, and closed at a record high, alongside Britain’s benchmark index (.FTSE), opens new tab. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab closed up 1.1%, at a record high, building on 10 straight weeks of gains. Leaders from major European economies agreed, over the weekend, to boost defence spending to show U.S. President Donald Trump that the continent could protect itself. Britain said there were several possible proposals for a Ukraine ceasefire after last week’s Oval Office rupture between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE), opens new tab surged 13.7% to a record high, while Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI), opens new tab advanced 16%. Britain’s BAE Systems (BAES.L), opens new tab was up 14.5%. France’s Thales (TCFP.PA), opens new tab and Dassault Aviation (AM.PA), opens new tab were up 16% and 14%, respectively. The European aerospace and defence index (.SXPARO), opens new tab climbed 7.7% to a record high, while the industrial goods and services sector (.SXNP), opens new tab gained 2.5%. A Reuters report that said parties in talks to form Germany’s new government were considering setting up a defence fund also boosted sentiment towards the defence companies. “While hopes of a Ukraine peace plan continue to play some part in today’s positive market action, it is the expectation of rearmament across Europe that is the most important driver,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG. “However, the problem is, as with all these euphoric surges, that it may take some time for it to fully develop… With European defence, it’s a question of seeing how this translates into actual funding.” Germany’s 10-year Bund yield , the euro zone benchmark, rose to 2.49%, pressuring rate-sensitive real estate (.SX86P), opens new tab and utilities (.SX6P), opens new tab, which were the top sectors in the red. Meanwhile, data showed Euro zone inflation dipped less than expected last month, but its most closely watched element dropped, sealing the case for another ECB interest rate cut on Thursday and for further policy easing in the coming months. The focus, however, will be on the central bank’s stance on U.S. plans for “reciprocal” tariffs on the European Union, as Trump’s deadline for tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and a further 10% duty on China looms Bunzl (BNZL.L), opens new tab fell 8.8% after the business supplies distributor reported a fall in annual profit.

NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) – Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Monday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission agreed in principle to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing it of operating illegally as an unregistered securities exchange. In a statement on its blog, Kraken called the dismissal a turning point for cryptocurrency that ended a “wasteful, politically motivated campaign” begun during the Biden administration, and which stifled innovation and investment. Kraken said the dismissal includes no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties, and no changes to its business. It also said the dismissal is with prejudice, meaning the SEC cannot bring the case again. “This case was never about protecting investors,” Kraken said. “It undermined a nascent industry that repeatedly urged clear rules of the road. “We appreciate the new leadership both at the White House and the Commission that led to this change,” Kraken added. The SEC declined to comment. Kraken had been sued in November 2023, as part of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s push to bring cryptocurrency under the regulator’s purview. But the SEC has pulled back on crypto oversight since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second White House term in January. Last week, the SEC ended a similar lawsuit against Coinbase (COIN.O), opens new tab, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, and said it may resolve its civil fraud case against Justin Sun, the Chinese entrepreneur and adviser to a Trump-backed crypto project. Trump, meanwhile, nominated Paul Atkins, a Washington lawyer seen as supportive of digital assets, to succeed Gensler as SEC chair. The SEC had accused Payward and Payward Ventures, which operate as Kraken, of having since 2018 made hundreds of millions of dollars arranging purchases and sales of 11 crypto assets while turning a “blind eye” to securities laws. Kraken was also accused of having deficient internal controls and record keeping. Like the vast majority of the cryptocurrency industry, Kraken argued that crypto assets, unlike stocks and bonds, did not qualify as investment contracts subject to SEC oversight. A federal judge in San Francisco denied Kraken’s bid to dismiss the case last August. Kraken is the world’s 10th-ranked cryptocurrency spot exchange based on traffic, liquidity, trading volumes, and confidence in the legitimacy of reported trading volumes, according to CoinMarketCap.