US stocks continue to decline after new Trump tariffs

US stocks have been under intense pressure since US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he was considering imposing additional tariffs of 50% on US steel and aluminum imports from Canada, which are scheduled to take effect next Wednesday.

This tariff comes as part of an escalation against the Ontario government’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on US electricity imports.

The US had previously imposed a 25% tariff on these goods from Canada, which also takes effect next Wednesday.

The New York Stock Exchange is also suffering despite negative data highlighting a rise in the US jobs index, which recorded 7.7 million job openings in January, compared to a rise of 7.5 million in December. This reading was slightly higher than the expected increase of 7.6 million jobs.

This data managed to push US stocks upward for a while, but they have since fallen again, pressured by tariff concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 41,533 points, losing 374 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 also fell to 5,593 points, losing about 20 points, or 0.4%. However, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose to 17,507 points, adding 37 points, or 0.3%.