Markets slid Thursday, March 1, amid news President Donald Trump is in support of steep global steel and aluminum tariffs.
On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. labor market has room to strengthen further without a spike in inflation. He said he does not see "strong evidence yet" that wages are picking up rapidly.
Frank Ingarra Jr., senior vice president and head trader at NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, said investors are spooked by the possibility of a global trade war.
"I think it's a combination of what President Trump said today, and with Powell speaking as well," he said. "This is the second time we've heard Powell, so people are trying to get a sense for him, his direction and how he is going to lead the Fed."
The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.27% to 7,180.56, the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.68% to 24,608.98 and the S&P 500 declined 1.33% to 2,677.67.
The nation's largest banks ended the day in the red, as Bank of America Corp. fell 1.56% to $31.48, Citigroup Inc. shrank 2.42% to $73.66, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lost 1.79% to $113.43 and Wells Fargo & Co. decreased 1.88% to $57.31.
Among notable movers, Home BancShares Inc. gained 2.96% to $23.67. Piper Jaffray upgraded the Conway, Ark.-based company to "overweight" from "neutral" following an improved outlook in the company's near-term loan growth.
Meanwhile, Western Alliance Bancorp. gained 1.25% to $59.19, Great Western Bancorp Inc. rose 1.30% to $41.42, U.S. Bancorp lost 2.19% to $53.17 and Customers Bancorp Inc. fell 1.40% to $28.93.
In economic news, initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped to a 49-year low in the week that ended Feb. 24, falling by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 from last week's downwardly revised 220,000, the Labor Department's latest report showed.
The four-week moving average stood at 220,500, down by 5,000 from last week's revised down average of 225,500.
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