[New York Stock Market Briefing] Nasdaq falls 2.8% on 'tariff bomb'... Nvidia down 8.5%

Major indices in the New York stock market plunged. This comes as the U.S. government announced its intention to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico as planned. Nvidia also plummeted more than 8% amid concerns that growth momentum would be curbed.

On the 27th (local time), the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average closed at 43,239.5, down 193.62 points (0.45%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index finished at 5,861.57, down 94.49 points (1.59%) from the previous day, while the Nasdaq index closed at 18,544.42, down 530.84 points (2.78%).

Fears of a trade war appear to be weighing on investor sentiment. If tariffs are introduced and prices rise, consumption could decline, exacerbating downward pressure on the economy. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social, "The tariffs scheduled to take effect on March 4 (against Canada and Mexico) will take effect as planned." He added, "On that day, China will also be subject to an additional 10% tariff" and stated that "the April 2 reciprocal tariff date remains valid."

The job market also showed signs of slowing down. According to the Department of Labor, the number of new unemployment insurance claims for the week ending February 22 was 242,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This represents an increase of 22,000 from the previous week and exceeded market expectations of 221,000.

Nvidia closed at $120.15, plunging 8.48%. Nvidia announced after the market closed the previous day that its fourth-quarter revenue last year increased by 78% compared to the same period the previous year, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) surged by 71%. Although last quarter's results exceeded market expectations, concerns about future performance grew. The Trump administration could strengthen semiconductor regulations and reduce the types of semiconductor chips that can be exported to China without permission.

Disappointment with Nvidia sent shockwaves through the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor sectors as a whole. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed at 4,686.75, down 6.09% from the previous session. TSMC fell 6.95%, Broadcom 7.1%, and ASML 6.7%. Apple and Microsoft were down in the 1% range, while Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet fell in the 2% range. Tesla retreated about 3%.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April delivery, the front-month contract, closed at $70.35 per barrel, up $1.73 (2.52%) from the previous session. Brent crude for April delivery on the London ICE Futures Exchange ended trading at $74.04, up $1.51 (2.08%). The United States imports 400 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada and 400,000 barrels from Mexico.

Blue-chip stocks, value stocks, and traditional industrial stocks, which have relatively less concern about Trump's tariffs, performed well. Walmart, JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, Visa, Mastercard, and Exxon Mobil all recorded gains of around 1%.

Jin Young-gi, Hankyung.com reporter young71@hankyung.com