Dow Jones sinks over 500 points as September opens with trade and yield jitters
US equities slumped on Tuesday (September 2), marking a weak start to September as trade concerns and climbing bond yields pressured markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 555 points, or 1.2%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fared worst, sliding 1.7%.
Selling pressure hit major market leaders, with investors locking in profits after a strong summer run. Nvidia shares slipped more than 2%, while Palantir dropped over 3%, leading losses among Big Tech names.
The pullback coincided with the end of the summer trading season, a period often followed by seasonal weakness in equities. Rising Treasury yields further weighed on sentiment, stoking caution across Wall Street.
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The moves come after a divided US appeals court ruled on Friday that most of Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, undercutting the Republican president’s use of the levies as a key international economic policy tool.
The court allowed the tariffs to remain in place through October 14 to give the Trump administration a chance to file an appeal with the US Supreme Court. The decision comes as a legal fight over the independence of the Federal Reserve also seems bound for the Supreme Court, setting up an unprecedented legal showdown this year over Trump’s entire economic policy.
Trump lamented the decision by what he called a “highly partisan” court, posting on Truth Social: “If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country.” He nonetheless predicted a reversal, saying he expected tariffs to benefit the country “with the help of the Supreme Court.”