Following the significant pullback seen during last Thursday and Friday’s session, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages showed wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line as the day progressed.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 eventually ended the day firmly in negative territory, but the narrower Dow posted a modest gain.

While the Dow inched up 33.19 points or 0.1 percent to 43,461.21, the S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) fell 29.88 points or 0.5 percent to 5,983.25 and the Nasdaq tumbled 237.08 points or 1.2 percent to 19,286.92.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day firmly in the red after President Donald Trump said previously delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico are “going forward on time.”

Claiming the U.S. has “been taken advantage of” on “just about everything,” Trump said, “The tariffs will go forward… and we’re going to make up a lot of territory.”

The volatility on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to the release of earnings news from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

The AI darling and market leader is scheduled to release its fourth quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also have contributed to the choppy trading ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation on Friday.

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, resulting in a 3.0 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Computer hardware, networking and software stocks also saw considerable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Retail stocks also showed a notable move to the downside, while significant strength was visible among pharmaceutical stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed in observance of the emperor’s birthday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved higher, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 2.7 basis points to a two-month closing low of 4.393 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to the Conference Board’s report on consumer confidence in the month of February.

SOURCE: RTTNEWS