By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended lower Wednesday ahead of an announcement by President Donald Trump on new auto tariffs.
Trump later signed an executive order imposing 25% tariffs on imports of foreign-made cars and light trucks.
He had hinted Monday that the tariffs could arrive prior to April 2, the day his sweeping “reciprocal tariff” plan is set to begin.
Following this, General Motors lost more than 3% and Tesla tumbled around 5.5%.
The developments on the tariffs also increased uncertainties about the next steps to be taken by the US Federal Reserve, with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee saying the next interest rate cut may be delayed due to economic uncertainty.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he was unsure about the impact of the tariffs on the US economy, with the possibility that they could push up prices, arguing for higher interest rates, while the possibility of slowing economic growth requires lower borrowing costs.
Kashkari said the Fed may need to stay where it is with monetary policy for a long time until the situation becomes clearer.
Meanwhile, durable goods orders in the US increased $2.7 billion or 0.9% month-over-month to $289.3 billion in February, despite market forecasts of a 1.1% fall.
The S&P 500 was off by 1.12% or 64.45 points to close at 5,712.20.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.04% or 372.84 points to 17,899.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.31%, or 132.71 points, to 42,454.79.
The VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," rose by 6.88% to 18.33.