Stocks slide as White House curbs chip exports, despite strong economic data
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Senator Van Hollen travels to El Salvador for Abrego Garcia
"We are going to keep fighting." Senator Van Hollen of Maryland left for El Salvador to push for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release.
A broad sell-off in the stock market intensified Wednesday as investors grappled with another twist in the ongoing U.S. trade war.
The Dow 30 Industrials shed 140 points, 0.4%, to trade near 40,229 at midday, while the broad S&P 500 was off 1.1%, or 58 points, near 5,338. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slid 2% to trade near 16,498, a loss of 325 points.
Shares of behemoth chipmaker Nvidia tumbled nearly 6%. The company on Tuesday night announced that the U.S. government was limiting exports of one of its chips to China.
Read next: White House's 245% tariff figure for some Chinese products causes confusion
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note was little changed at 4.32%, down more than 20 basis points from its level last week, when a sharp sell-off rattled markets. Bond yields rise as prices fall, and vice versa. Gold tacked on another 3% to push above $3,300, a fresh record. The precious metal is now up more than 27% in the year so far.
Corporate news
Abbott Labs shares gained 5.5% after the healthcare products company reported results before the bell. Earnings slightly topped analyst expectations, but revenue missed.
Share of semiconductor companies sank: the iShares Semiconductor ETF, which tracks those stocks, was off nearly 4%.
Hertz shares surged more than 14% after hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman disclosed a stake in the rental car company.
Economic news
More: Imports to US remained at near record levels in February as tariff fears persisted
Industrial production, or manufacturing and mining activity, rose by 0.7% in February 2025, the third consecutive month of increases and topping analyst expectations of a 0.2% rise.
Retail sales rose 1.4% in March, the strongest monthly gain since January 2023, the government said, as shoppers hurried to get ahead of fresh tariff announcements.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to talk about the economic outlook in the afternoon.
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