Sell-off on Wall Street gains steam, with Dow losing 700 points: Live updates

Stocks sold off Friday, pressured by growing uncertainty on U.S. trade policy as well as a more grim outlook on inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 736 points, or 1.7%. The S&P 500 shed 1.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.6%.

Shares of several technology giants dropped, putting pressure on the broader market. Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon lost more than 3% each, while Microsoft and Meta each declined by about 2%.

Those declines put the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on pace for their fifth weekly decline in six weeks. The S&P 500 was down more than 1% for the week, while the Nasdaq had lost over 2%. The Dow was headed for a 0.8% decline.

Stocks took a leg lower after the University of Michigan’s final read on consumer sentiment for March reflected the highest long-term inflation expectations since 1993.

Friday’s core personal consumption expenditures price index also came out hotter-than-expected, rising 2.8% in February and reflecting a 0.4% increase for the month, increasing concerns about persistent inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective numbers of 2.7% and 0.3%. Consumer spending accelerated 0.4% for the month, below the 0.5% forecast, according to fresh data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“The market is getting squeezed by both sides. There is uncertainty around next week’s reciprocal tariffs hitting the major exporting sectors like tech alongside concerns about a weakening consumer facing higher prices hitting areas like discretionary,” said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X.

Helfstein added, however, that the news on inflation and consumer spending “was not that bad” and could simply represent a hiccup in near-term sentiment as investors struggle to understand the Trump administration’s new policies.

“Despite today’s selloff and broader market volatility of the past few weeks, there have not been big inflows into money markets. It seems like a lot of investors are trying to ride this out,” he said.

The latest inflation report comes amid a flurry of tariff announcements from the White House, which have roiled the market in recent weeks. Investors are looking ahead to April 2, when President Donald Trump is expected to announce further tariff plans, for further clarity.

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump that the Canadian government will implement retaliatory tariffs following the April 2 announcements. Bloomberg earlier reported that the European Union is identifying concessions it could make to Trump’s administration to reduce the reciprocal tariffs from the U.S. that are set to increase after April 2.

Trump this week announced a 25% tariff on “all cars that are not made in the United States,” hitting auto stocks and raising concerns of an economic slowdown.