The S&P 500 ended March with its steepest monthly decline in more than two years, driven by uncertainty about the scope of President Trump’s tariffs, which investors fear could accelerate inflation, slow consumer spending and stall the U.S. economy.
After a choppy session on Monday in which the index ended higher for the day, the S&P 500 registered a 5.8 percent decline in March, its worst month since December 2022, when the Federal Reserve embarked upon a series of sharp interest rate increases as it sought to tame inflation. The decline in March caps off the S&P 500’s worst quarter at the start of a president’s term since President Barack Obama took over in 2009 during the financial crisis.
The benchmark is now down 8.7 percent from its mid-February peak, a downturn that is near a 10 percent “correction,” denting the values of portfolios and retirement funds across both Wall Street and Main Street. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index, which has already slipped into a correction, ended the month down 8.2 percent.
Since taking office a little over two months ago, Mr. Trump has kept investors and companies guessing with a haphazard rollout of what he calls an “America First” trade policy. He has threatened, imposed and in some cases then paused the start of new tariffs on goods coming into the United States.
Whiplash over trade policy has fueled market volatility in the first few months of the year. Mr. Trump’s next round of tariffs, set to be unveiled on Wednesday, could bring additional market swings in the coming days.
“That’s what the market is hoping for after April 2: Give us what you’re going to give us, tell us what’s going to happen and we will then try to figure it out,” said Steve Sosnick, the chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “But until then, it’s very difficult to invest.”
