Stock futures sink after Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs shock markets

US stock markets were again surprised by a tariff announcement from President Trump on Wednesday.

The president’s much-anticipated “Liberation Day” announcement saw the White House announce a 10% tariff floor to be imposed on all US trading partners while a range of countries will see effective rates significantly higher than that.

Near 4:45 p.m. ET, S&P 500 futures were down 1.7%, Nasdaq 100 futures were off 2.4%, and Dow futures were down 0.7%.

US stocks shook off earlier losses as Wall Street waited for President Trump to give details of new tariffs that promise to profoundly shake up US trading relations worldwide.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added nearly 0.7% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose almost 0.6%, or more than 200 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) popped about 0.9%. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 had been down more than 1% in early trading on Wednesday.

Tesla’s (TSLA) 5% rally after a report that Elon Musk could be leaving his government role soon led the gains. Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) was up more than 2% after the New York Times reported the tech giant has made a “last-minute bid” for TikTok.

This pushed the Consumer Discretionary (XLY) sector, which is broadly expected to be impacted by Trump’s tariffs, higher by nearly 2%. The sector led the gains in the S&P 500 on Wednesday.

Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:

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AppLovin (APP) stock rose roughly 5% before paring some gains after CNBC reported the tech company, and trendy AI trade was a last-minute bidder for TikTok.

AppLovin is the latest company to be linked to the Chinese social media company’s purchase. Reports earlier in the day have also named Amazon (AMZN) and Tim Stokley, the founder of adult social media company OnlyFans, as potential buyers.

President Trump’s deadline for a TikTok sale looms on Saturday.

Among the many questions headed into President Trump’s expected tariff announcement is whether or not the administration will place “blanket” tariffs on all trading partners, meaning the rates would be the same for everyone, or if it would vary how hefty the duties are on a country-by-country basis.

SkyNews’ economics and data editor Ed Conway reported that a source close to the White House told him there will be three separate tariff bands: 10%, 15%, and 20%.

“The bands will differ both by country and by industry,” per SkyNews.

Markets are anxiously waiting for President Trump to reveal his latest tariff plans after the market close on Wednesday.

But strategists have warned whatever Trump says likely won’t end the political uncertainty overhang that’s weighed on stocks over the past month.

“Our view is that that’s just a starting point,” Barclays head of US equities Venu Krishna told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday. “It takes a long time to reciprocate and to haggle and to settle on the ultimate terms.”

Krishna added, “I think this is going to be real. It’s not going to be settled right away. And it probably takes at least three to six months, and that’s on the optimistic side.”

Krishna recently lowered his year-end target for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to 5,900 from 6,600 previously, in part because of how tariffs restrict growth in both corporate earnings and the economy. Krishna also presented a bear case for the S&P 500, in which the benchmark index tumbles to 4,400 as more widespread tariffs, including reciprocal duties from other countries, hamstring US growth more than expected.

Amazon (AMZN) stock was up more than 1% as the New York Times reported the tech giant has made a “last-minute bid” for TikTok.

The New York Times cited three people familiar with the bid and added that “various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously.”

President Trump has previously said that a deal for ByteDance to sell the Chinese social media company to a US investor is expected to be completed by Saturday. Trump set the April 5 deadline back in January and has threatened to ban TikTok in the US if it’s not sold to an American buyer.

Homebuilder stocks edged lower on Wednesday as concerns over President Trump’s big tariff announcement raised fears that higher construction costs could slow the housing recovery.

D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI), the biggest US homebuilder, slid nearly 1% Wednesday morning, while Lennar (LEN) and PulteGroup (PHM) fell 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.

Trump is scheduled to unveil his major tariff plan details at a Rose Garden address this afternoon.

Builders have been growing concerned about the impact of these tariffs, especially on materials from China, Canada, and Mexico. Morgan Stanley warns that tariffs could drive up the cost of fabricated metal products by as much as 49%. And other materials like electrical equipment and wood products could see significant price hikes too.

As a result, higher costs could mean expensive homes, smaller homes, and fewer homes being built. Economists at Morgan Stanley point out that this is significant because more buyers will start looking at existing homes if new homes get pricier or harder to find. With supply already tight, that could drive up prices in the resale market.

Morgan Stanley originally projected a 2% decline in home price appreciation for 2025, but with these new factors at play, they now expect it could be closer to a 5% increase.

Newsmax (NMAX) stock dropped 40% on Wednesday morning, after a massive post-IPO surge saw its price soar from $10 to $233.

Shares in the conservative news network spiked in recent days following its stock-market listing on Friday.

As the chart above shows, even with Wednesday’s losses, Newsmax stock has still gained more than 1,000% since its debut.

Meanwhile, CoreWeave (CRWV) stock soared more than 41% on Tuesday and as much as 11% on Wednesday as investors piled into the newly listed artificial intelligence stock.

The pay bump for leaving a job is at its lowest level since the labor market began recovering from the pandemic in 2020.

New data from ADP released on Wednesday showed wage growth for job changers fell to 6.5% in March, down from 6.8% the month prior. Meanwhile, pay growth for job stayers slipped to 4.5%, in line with its lowest level in more than three years.

The gap between the two pay growth numbers, which ADP refers to as the “pay premium” workers see when changing jobs, was just 1.9%. This was the lowest premium for job changer pay growth since ADP began tracking the data in November 2020.

ADP chief economist Nela Richardson told Yahoo Finance that this data is another sign that the labor market has cooled over the past few years and lost its “dynamism.”

“The US labor market is marked and characterized by dynamism,” Richardson said. “You want some kind of flow in and out. You want companies to attract workers by better opportunities. And what we’re seeing is basically firms are not laying off workers, and workers aren’t quitting, and we’re in this really stable but equilibrium, but not a very dynamic one.”

US stocks retreated on Wednesday as Wall Street braced for President Trump to reveal details of sweeping new tariffs that promise to profoundly shake up US trading relations worldwide.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the losses falling more than 1.4%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.8%, or more than 300 points. Tesla (TSLA) shares pulled back more than 5% after the EV maker’s first quarter deliveries came in weaker than expected.

Tesla (TSLA) stock sank nearly 5% in premarket trading after the electric vehicle maker’s first quarter deliveries fell well short of expectations.

Tesla said it delivered 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter, falling short of consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg for 390,343. Meanwhile, the company’s production also underwhelmed. Tesla produced 362,615 vehicles in the quarter, below Wall Street’s expectations for 412,148.

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New data revealed that private-sector hiring increased more than expected in March, after a downbeat report the month prior.

On Wednesday, fresh data from ADP showed the private sector added 155,000 jobs in March, above economists expectations for 120,000 — and significantly higher than the 85,000 added in February. February’s number of job additions was revised up from a prior reading of 77,000.

“Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March topline number was a good one for the economy and employers of all sizes, if not necessarily all sectors,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in the release.