On Tuesday, Trump unilaterally introduced 25-percent import tariffs on goods and services from Mexico and Canada.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that the tariffs affecting three major American car manufacturers would be put on hold for a month.
This caused the New York Stock Exchange to rise and recover some of the losses from earlier in the week.
Then came Thursday, with the announcement that all tariffs against Mexico and Canada on goods within the USMCA – the North American free trade agreement negotiated with Canada and Mexico during Trump's previous term – would be postponed until April 2.
Fear of Uncertainty
Even when the decision was made, the three major indexes were already in the red, but the downward trend continued even after Trump's announcement.
At the close, the Dow Jones industrial index had fallen 1 percent, the broad S&P 500 index 1.8 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index 2.6 percent.
Keith Lerner points out, like many others, that markets generally abhor uncertainty – and that is exactly what has been created in recent times.
This confusion permeates the daily fluctuations on the market.
He is supported by Chris Low, chief economist at the financial advisory firm FHN Financial, who says that uncertainty seems to be "the only certainty" right now.
Technology Companies Bleeding
Some of those affected by Thursday's gloom on Wall Street were the major American technology companies. All the companies known as "The magnificent seven" fell.
Not least, semiconductor giant Nvidia had a bad day, ending 5.7 percent down.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla continued to fall, with a 5.6 percent drop. This brings Tesla close to the level its stock was at before President Donald Trump won the election in early November.
