US equity markets were again weaker on Tuesday, tariffs (both actual and threatened) making investors skittish. The Dow fell 478 points or -1.14%.

Verizon Communications, the worst performer in the Dow, fell -6.58% after the telecommunications company said at a conference that it has "been a challenging quarter from a competitive intensity standpoint." Verizon anticipates first-quarter postpaid phone gross additions to be flat to slightly down from the prior-year period.

Citi became the latest Wall Street investment bank to downgrade its stance on U.S. equities, downgrading its recommendation to "neutral" from “overweight” and citing recession fears. Citi’s global head of macro strategy, Dirk Willer, cited two key market signals as factors signalling weakness ahead. Firstly, the S&P 500 broke below its 200-day moving average and secondly, the underperformance of market-leading stocks. He noted that while US equities may regain their edge once the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven rally resumes, near-term growth is expected to lag behind global markets.

US equity markets were again weaker on Monday, investors worried that tariff policy uncertainty would tip the economy into a recession, something President Donald Trump did not rule out over the weekend in an interview. 'Risk-off' sentiment can definitely be seen in US market trading. The Dow fell 890 points or -2.08%, the 30-stock index dragged down by Nvidia, Goldman Sachs and Apple, down -5.07%, 5%, and 4.85% respectively.
Canada's next prime minister, former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, took aim at President Trump in his victory speech. "There's someone who's trying to weaken our economy: Donald Trump," he said. Carney won with leadership of the Canadian Liberal party with 86% of the vote. He will be sworn in as the country's new prime minister in the coming days. He said he will seek new trading partnerships with "reliable partners." Carney has also vowed to maintain retaliatory tariffs "until the Americans show us respect."  

US equity markets advanced, recovering from steep losses earlier in the session following a lacklustre jobs report and after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy remains in good shape. The Dow was up 222 points or 0.52%, the 30-stock index led by IBM (up 5.1%), and Verizon Communications (up 4.14%) leading the charge.The broader S&P500 gained +0.55%, with Utilities (up +1.84%) and Energy (+1.64%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. 

US equity markets advanced following two session of heavy losses as investors eyed a near term reprieve for the automotive sector from President Trump’ tariff measures that may be a portent of further concessions - Dow rose +486-points or +1.14% Microsoft Corp (up +3.23%) and Caterpillar Inc (+3.59%) both rallied over >3% to be the leading performers in the 30-stock index.

US equity markets weaker, extending the steep losses recorded a day earlier albeit settling off their worst levels of the session as tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico took effect - Dow shed -670-points or -1.55% to 42,520.99, having fallen as much a -843 points at its session low.  A close below 40,512.64 would mark a correction (defined as a 10% fall from the most recent peak) from the index’s record close of 45,014.04, set on 4 December. Boeing Co (down -6.56%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index. Nvidia Corp rose +1.67%, recouping some of the previous session’s -8.81% decline that dragged the chipmaker into official correction territory (after settling more than >20% below its record all-time closing high of US$149.43 set on 6 January).

US equity markets fell sharply, unwinding opening gains as President Trump said that tariffs against Mexico and Canada will go ahead as planned tonight AEST (and also signed an action to impose an additional 10% duty on China, according to an administration official), while investors also digested signs of a fresh spike in inflation pressures - Dow dropped -650-points or -1.48%. Nvidia Corp fell 8.81% to US$114.22 to be the worst performer in the 30-stock index overnight, with the stock falling into official correction territory after settling more than >20% below its record all-time closing high of US$149.43 set on 6 January. There were reports that Nvidia and Broadcom Inc (-6.05%) are testing Intel Corp’s (-4.17%) chip manufacturing process. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday (2 March) that Chinese buyers were finding ways to buy Nvidia’s chips despite President Trump’s attempts to limit sales to Beijing. Elsewhere, Amazon.com Inc (down -3.42%), Caterpillar Inc (-3.46%) and Chevron Corp (-3.49%) all fell over >3%.

Benchmark US equity indices settled with solid gains on Friday (28 February) on heavy volume to close out a dreary February on a brighter note, with investors digesting the latest inflation figures that pushed US Treasury yields to fresh multi-month lows  - Dow rose +601-points or +1.39%, with 26 of 30 index components advancing.