Thursday saw a resumption of the downward trend for major U.S. equities, after a temporary ease due to President Trump's decision to delay higher tariffs on global trade partners. This was short-lived as escalating tensions with China caused fresh concerns. This shifting sentiment muddied the waters, as the White House confirmed a focus on Chinese imports, resulting in a 145% goods levy.
The S&P 500 lost 3.5%, while the Dow's session concluded with a 2.5% fallout. The Nasdaq was also hit hard, experiencing a 4.3% tumble, amplified by weakening tech stocks.
Charles River Laboratories, a health care diagnostics and drug discovery services provider, endured the day's most substantial S&P 500 stock decline of 28.1%. This significant drop followed Barclays' analysts slashing their price target on the stock, citing potential impacts of pharmaceutical tariffs on industry budgets, which could significantly hamper Charles River's output.
Used-car retailer, Carmax, witnessed a 17% nosedive in shares after underperforming in sales and profits for its fiscal fourth quarter. Faced with the potential fallout from looming tariffs, the company refrained from providing precise financial expectations for fiscal 2026, backing down from its previously declared long-term growth goals.
On the heels of Wednesday's semiconductor stocks rally, downtrends returned on Thursday. Microchip Technology saw its shares plummet 13.6% after ranking at the top of Wednesday's S&P 500, while Monolithic Power Systems' shares dropped 13.7%.
Warner Bros. Discovery suffered a 12.5% loss due to the China Film Administration's decision to decrease the number of American films imported to China, an unmistakable symptom of the escalating trade war.
Gold, being a refuge during economic uncertainties, saw futures prices rise by over 3%. This surge benefited gold-mining stocks, with shares of world-leading gold producer, Newmont, rising by 4.5%.
MarketAxess Holdings, a fixed-income trading platform operator, recovered from a mild decline by advancing 3.5% following an upgrade from Morgan Stanley.
Kroger's shares increased by 3.1%. Despite the potential impact of the tariffs, the company, which operates the largest chain of traditional grocery stores in the U.S., expressed confidence in its plan to diversify supply chains and sourcing from countries with lower tariff costs.