Dow slides as stock market volatility continues

Stocks slumped Monday amid ongoing market turbulence over tariffs and after President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down nearly 900 points, while the S&P 500 traded down 2.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 4%.

Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday that it will take “a little time” before Americans see a payoff from his policies. But the same day, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there was no need to brace for a recession.

“I hate to predict things like that,” he said. “There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of, it takes a little time.”

The president’s comments come as Wall Street has grown increasingly concerned that his tariff policies could disrupt economic growth.

In a sign of increased volatility, the CBOE volatility index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” jumped more than 19% .

The Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs last week on imports from Canada and Mexico before pausing the tax a few days later for goods covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It was the second time the White House imposed stiff tariffs only to reverse course days later, leading to wild ups and downs on Wall Street.

Though the February jobs report released Friday showed solid hiring despite massive layoffs among federal workers, some analysts are worried economic growth could slow in the coming months. Last week, both Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase downgraded their forecasts for first-quarter economic growth, citing tariffs and broader uncertainty surrounding the Trump’s administration’s economic policies.

In a note to investors Friday, Goldman Sachs said it now sees a 20% chance of a recession in the next 12 months, up from 15%.

BNP Paribas said it anticipates “lasting damage to global economic activity” even if the imposed tariffs are removed, with substantially greater damages to be priced into the market the longer tariffs stay in effec.

Last week, JPMorgan Chase downgraded its forecast for GDP growth in the first quarter of the year from 1.5% to 1%, a revision that the bank said was “in response to a widening trade deficit and out of further concern that policy uncertainty may cause a slowdown in activity this quarter.”

The uncertainty spread to the tech sector, where growth-oriented stocks linked to artificial intelligence and chips could see a shake-up as the Trump administration imposes harsh duties on China, said Wedbush senior analyst Dan Ives. Apple closed down 4.85%, while Nvidia lost 5%.

“The Street can’t take not knowing the rules of the game under Trump with recession fears growing, and this is causing a mini panic for tech investors,” Ives said in an email.

Investors will be watching Wednesday’s inflation report.