Stocks dipped on Wednesday, led lower by tech, as pressure on the tariff front mounted.

The S&P 500 lost 1.12% and ended at 5,712.20, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 132.71 points, or 0.31%, to close at 42,454.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 2.04% and closed at 17,899.01, as Nvidia shares dropped nearly 6%.

Major tech names such as Meta Platforms and Amazon dropped more than 2%, while Alphabet lost more than 3%. Tesla slid more than 5%.

Stocks hit session lows after the White House said President Donald Trump will unveil new tariffs on auto imports during a press conference at 4 p.m. ET. General Motors and Stellantis each tumbled more than 3%.

The action came ahead of a broad array of additional levies expected to be revealed next week. Trump on Tuesday said these tariffs will likely be more "lenient than reciprocal," reflecting a softened stance that added onto reports from earlier this week that the duties could be more narrow in scope and that sector-specific tariffs are expected to be delayed.

"Whenever the President tosses out a trade tidbit, the markets either rejoice or retreat," said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research chief investment strategist. "Due to the President's plan to announce additional tariffs on autos, the defensive/safe haven consumer staples and utilities groups are once again in the lead. This rotation is likely to continue at least until April 2 when the reciprocal tariffs go into effect, and possible even longer should the President make ongoing adjustments to the tariffs."

Worries over the effect of protectionist trade policies have weighed on equities recently. The S&P 500 dipped into correction territory earlier this month, briefly dipping more than 10% from a record high set in February.

Wall Street is coming off a winning session, with the S&P 500 on Tuesday posting its third straight advance.

Stocks end Wednesday in the red

The S&P 500 shed 1.12% to end at 5,712.20, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.04% to close at 17,899.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 132.71 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 42,454.79.

— Pia Singh

UBS highlights 3 reasons to favor U.S. AI companies over China's

In a recent note, UBS shared three compelling reasons why investors should favor U.S. artificial intelligence firms over those of China's.

"A lingering sense of nervousness remains among AI investors, primarily centered on the concern that Chinese AI developers and their low-cost models threaten to usurp US competitors with higher sunk investment costs," wrote Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS Global Wealth Management. "While both the United States and China have made significant strides in the AI sector, CIO believes there are compelling reasons to favor US AI companies over their Chinese counterparts, especially in the near term."

Haefele said outsized capital expenditures from U.S. firms should drive greater competitive advantage.

"The higher capex intensity in the US, defined as capex spending divided by revenues, stands at 20% in 2025 compared to China's 11.7%. This disparity highlights the US's commitment to maintaining a technological edge, even though it may lead to higher depreciation-related expenses in the short term," he wrote.

Meanwhile, higher research and development spending from U.S. AI firms means they are better positioned to discover "the next big thing." Finally, Haefele underscored that U.S. firms have a "clear advantage" in higher monetization potential, suggesting that they have a better chance of generating revenues and profits.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks could find a bottom in early summer before regaining record highs, says strategist

Equities can rebound and reach new highs in 2025 despite macroeconomic uncertainty, according to Deutsche Bank chief global strategist Bankim Chadha.

"One of the most robust things about the behavior of equities in recessions is they bottom halfway through. So if you follow my example of the second and the third quarter [seeing] a mild recession, you should be selling off now and into the second quarter," Chadha told CNBC's "Money Movers" on Wednesday.

"You should have a bottom basically in between the two, so let's call it June 1. And then, what you're gonna see, what the playbook is gonna tell you is the equity market is gonna recoup all its losses and more."

The strategist has a year-end price target for the benchmark S&P 500 of 7,000.

— Brian Evans

Lawn care leader Scotts Miracle-Gro faces rising competition, Jefferies says

As households get ready to prepare their lawns and gardens for spring, Jefferies reiterates its hold rating on Scotts Miracle-Gro, citing intensifying competition for its call. Analyst Jonathan Matuszewski flagged a recent funding round for Sunday, a maker of eco-friendly lawn care products, which will help fuel the fast-growing brand's expansion.

Sunday also continues to invest in research and development, according to Jefferies. "We believe this would lead to more science-backed alternatives to traditional, chemical-heavy lawn care at retail," Matuszewski wrote.

Scotts dominates the category, with a market share of about 50%, he said, adding that the company has seen momentum with its own organics push last year and will continue to build on its lineup this year.

Still, shares are down more than 14% year to date. Jefferies has a $72 price target on the stock, which implies the stock could rise 27% from Tuesday's close.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

The direction of average tariff rates is up, Barclays says

Whether President Trump will indeed soften his approach to tariffs as he has recently suggested is uncertain, but one thing that is clear is that average tariff rates are rising, according to Barclays.

"We think the direction of travel is clear: average tariff rates are increasing, likely to levels not seen since before World War II," the firm's Michael McLean wrote Wednesday.

"At the end of 2024, the US weighted average tariff rate was 2.5%. After the tariffs that Trump has implemented so far, the average tariff rate has increased more than 3 times to over 8%," he continued. "We assume once Trump is finished, it could be as high as 15%."

— Sarah Min

Data center equipment stocks take it on the chin, led by former highflier Vertiv

Sentiment is weakening Wednesday toward companies that supply equipment for data centers used to power AI applications, led by former highflier Vertiv Holdings, down 12% and on pace for its worst one-day decline since last July.

In a note out early Wednesday, TD Cowen warned that its channel checks showed, "Hyperscale redesigns for higher densities are driving slower [data center] equipment purchasing, which we view negatively for 1H25 VRT orders."

Vertiv soared during the AI investment mania of the past two years, since the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022. Based in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Vertiv climbed 137% in 2024 and 252% in 2023.

Other data center equipment plays suffered in sympathy Wednesday, led by Eaton Corporation, off 5%; Trane Technologies falling more than 3%; and Hubbell dropping 2%.

— Scott Schnipper

Gold prices could surge to $3,500, Bank of America says

Gold could hit $3,500 per ounce within the next two years with central banks and China's insurance industry driving demand, according to Bank of America.

Gold has gained 14% this year to break $3,000 per ounce for the first time as geopolitical tensions and President Donald Trump's trade war push some investors into safe-haven assets. The yellow metal has gained about 6% this month and was last trading at $3,024.8 per ounce.

— Spencer Kimball

Rosenblatt says buy the dip in Coinbase, citing growth of USDC stablecoin

Coinbase's trading volumes have fallen amid cautious market conditions, but stablecoin growth has accelerated, driven mainly by Circle's USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin on the market, with which Coinbase enjoys a 50% revenue sharing agreement.

"We're not worried as the potential top line pressure is offset by encouraging market share gains and accelerating outstanding growth at USDC," Rosenblatt's Chris Brendler said of the crypto exchange operator. "Investors underestimate the potential of COIN's non-trading revenue streams in this political environment."

USDC makes up about 26% of the total market cap for stablecoins, behind Tether's 67% dominance. Its market cap has grown 36% this year, however, compared with Tether's 5% growth. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said the company has a "stretch goal to make USDC the number 1 stablecoin." 

Coinbase is up 1% since President Trump was reelected in November, but is down 9% in March and 21% year to date.

— Tanaya Macheel

Tech stocks come under pressure

Several well-known tech stocks took a beating on Wednesday.

All seven stocks in the "Magnificent Seven" tracked for losses, led down by Nvidia and Tesla with slides of nearly 6% each. Other notable names including Palantir, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom also declined.

Those moves can help explain why the information technology sector performed the worst of the 11 that comprised the S&P 500. The sector fell more than 2%, on track to snap a three-day win streak.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, was the worst performer of the three major indexes in the session. With a drop of nearly 2%, the index was also poised to record its first negative day in the last four.

— Alex Harring

Auto stocks slip after White House announces new auto tariffs will come Wednesday

Shares of several automakers declined after the White House said President Donald Trump will unveil new tariffs on auto imports during a press conference in the Oval Office at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Shares of General Motors and Ford each dropped about 1.3%. Stellantis and Honda Motor each shed more than 2%. Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor also declined more than 1%.

— Pia Singh

Trump to make auto tariff announcement as soon as Wednesday, per Bloomberg

President Trump is preparing to make an announcement on car tariffs as soon as Wednesday, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.

But one of the people told Bloomberg that the president's plans could still change. Trump said earlier this week that he would announce auto tariffs soon.

"We'll be announcing cars very shortly," Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Monday.

— Spencer Kimball

GameStop, Dollar Tree among the names making midday moves

There are some stocks making the biggest moves in midday trading:

• GameStop — The meme stock soared about 15%. On Tuesday, GameStop's board announced it had unanimously approved a plan to buy bitcoin with a portion of its corporate cash, following a similar move by MicroStrategy.
• Dollar Tree — The discount retail chain popped more than 4% after announcing on Wednesday that it would offload its Family Dollar business to a group of private-equity investors for $1 billion.
• Playtika — The mobile gaming stock gained more than 22% after receiving a double upgrade to buy from underperform at Bank of America. The bank said the company has high profitability in a "mature" industry that is "still growing."

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Barclays lowers S&P 500 target to 5,900, citing extended tariff effects

Barclays lowered its 2025 S&P 500 target to 5,900 from 6,600 on concerns that U.S. tariffs could lead to a material slowdown in economic activity.

The firm's new forecast implies upside of just 0.3% from where the benchmark began the year. It is now the lowest 2025 outlook among those in CNBC Pro's Market Strategist Survey.

"Our earlier base case did not include a direct impact of tariffs. But now, our hand is forced. And at least for the foreseeable future, I think it would be foolhardy not to take that seriously," strategist Venu Krishna told CNBC on Wednesday. "For the next 6 months, the tariffs are not going to be settled right away … that's the concern."

Krishna upgraded the financial sector to positive. The group has "decent" valuations and earnings momentum, and is the one sector that is likely to benefit from deregulation under the Trump administration, he said. The strategist also downgraded the industrials and discretionary sectors.

For more on Barclays' call, read here.

— Pia Singh

Dollar Tree shares jump after company sells struggling Family Dollar business

Shares of Dollar Tree rose nearly 5% around midday trading after the company said earlier Wednesday that private equity investors will buy its Family Dollar business for about $1 billion.

Dollar Tree announced it is offloading the business to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management, ending a lengthy search for potential buyers that the company first announced in June.

Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar in 2015 for about $9 billion, but the more grocery-focused business has since faced tough competition from big-box retailers and a spending slowdown from lower-income consumers amid higher inflation.

Dollar Tree shares are down roughly 5% year to date and have lost nearly 44% over the past year, as the company continues to struggle with its sales performance despite remodeling stores and raising prices.

— Pia Singh

Nike trips again

Nike shares are down around 0.8% Wednesday, putting the athletic retailer on pace for its seventh consecutive losing session.

The stock has declined in 12 of its past 13 trading days. Month to date, Nike has fallen 16.8%, on track for its worst month since June 2025.

The company guided toward its fiscal fourth-quarter sales decline to fall at the "low end" of the "mid-teens range," which was far worse than analysts expected, amid tariffs and falling consumer confidence.

— Hakyung Kim, Adrian van Hauwermeiren

Four leading tech stocks are lowering the Dow Industrials by more than 100 points

Declines in Nvidia, Salesforce, Amazon and Microsoft are lowering the Dow Jones Industrial Average by almost 120 points in mid-morning Wednesday trading. The four tech stocks combined are down about $18, and every dollar move in any stock in the price-weighted Dow is worth 6.15 points.

By contrast, the five largest advancers Wednesday — McDonald's, UnitedHealth Group, Travelers, Honeywell and Sherwin-Williams — are lifting the Dow by a combined 129 points.

— Scott Schnipper

Stocks open little changed on Wednesday

Shortly after market open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 77 points higher, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 shed about 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite opened 0.3% lower.

— Pia Singh

Trump might impose tariffs on copper imports in coming weeks, Bloomberg reports

President Trump might impose tariffs on copper imports in the next several weeks, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.

Trump directed the Commerce Department to launch an investigation into potential copper tariffs in February. Commerce is supposed to submit a report within 270 days, but the issue is expected to be resolved sooner, the people told Bloomberg.

Copper prices have risen about 31% this year. The metal was up 1.23% at $5.2745 per pound Wednesday morning after closing at a record in the previous session.

— Spencer Kimball

Durable goods orders were much stronger than expected in February

Demand for long-lasting items such as aircraft, appliances and computers unexpectedly surged in February, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Durable goods orders increased 0.9% for the month, down from the upwardly revised 3.3% level in January but much better than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 1% decline. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.7%, while the increase was 0.8% when excluding defense.

However, nondefense capital goods order, a closely watched metric of demand, saw a 0.3% decline for the month, indicating softening capital spending plans.

— Jeff Cox

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading:

• GameStop — The meme stock surged 16% a day after the company's board announced it had approved a plan to buy bitcoin and stablecoins with a portion of its corporate cash, in a move similar to that of MicroStrategy.
• Dollar Tree — The discount retailer gained 5% after the company announced plans to sell its Family Dollar business for $1 billion. Dollar Tree also reported fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, which saw the firm surpass analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines.
• Playtika — Shares of the mobile gaming company jumped 13.9% following Bank of America's double upgrade to buy from underperform. The bank said the company has attractive features and is in an industry that is mature but still growing.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Wolfe Research says reciprocal tariffs effect will be 'more severe than expected'

The pending reciprocal tariffs set to take place April 2 will still likely impose duties at a highly impactful level, even as President Donald Trump said they may end up being "more lenient," according to Wolfe Research.

"We still think the final reciprocal numbers will be high next week, and likely more severe than markets expect, especially after the Monday rally fueled by hopes of tariff moderation," Wolfe Research head of U.S. policy and politics Tobin Marcus wrote Wednesday.

"We also reiterate our argument from Monday morning that any country carveouts will minimally impact the scale of the reciprocal tariffs, which will likely cover 85-90%+ of total imports," he added. "And we are not currently assuming 'secondary tariffs' on Venezuelan oil purchasers will end up being applied anywhere, as China and India will likely cease purchases rather than face 25% tariffs."

— Brian Evans

GameStop shares soar nearly 17% in premarket trading

GameStop shares jumped more than 16.5% in premarket trading Wednesday, following the video game retailer's announcement that it will invest a portion of its corporate cash into bitcoin.

GameStop's board on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to invest the company's cash or future debt and equity issuances in bitcoin and U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins. The announcement follows in the footsteps of software company MicroStrategy, now known as Strategy, which has accumulated billions worth of bitcoin in recent years to become the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. 

Read here for more on GameStop's announcement.

— Pia Singh

William Blair remains bullish on Tesla

Amid the onslaught of recent news around Tesla, William Blair has reason for optimism on the stock.

Analyst Jed Dorsheimer noted an "endless" cycle of updates on the electric vehicle maker, which he described as containing some positive and some negative developments. Taken all together, he still has an outperform rating on the stock.

"Despite the correction in the auto business near term, we remain positive on the faster-than-expected ramp of the Megapack business and ride-sharing rolling out this year," Dorsheimer wrote to clients.

Dorsheimer also said expectations are near a bottom. As they reset, he said shares will also hit a bottom and momentum will start rebounding.

Tesla shares have rallied more than 15% this week, putting the stock on track to snap a historic weekly losing streak. Still, the stock has plunged more than 28% in 2025.

— Alex Harring

7 out of 11 sectors end Tuesday higher

Seven of the 11 GICS sectors ended Tuesday's session positive for the day.

The communication services sector rose 1.43%, and was the session's biggest gainer. On the other hand, utilities stocks, down 1.61%, were the session's laggard.

The consumer discretionary, technology and materials sectors all closed more than 10% off their 52-week highs.

— Christopher Hayes, Lisa Kailai Han

GameStop shares pop 6% in extended trading

Shares of meme stock darling GameStop gained 6% Tuesday afternoon, after the company's board announced it had unanimously approved a plan to invest corporate cash in bitcoin.

GameStop's decision echoes a similar move made by MicroStrategy.

As of Feb. 1, GameStop had nearly $4.8 billion in cash holdings. The firm has yet to announce how much bitcoin it intends to purchase.

The video game retailer also reported fourth-quarter net income of $131.3 million. This was higher than the $63.1 million figure from the year-ago period.

— Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures are marginally higher Tuesday evening

Stock futures edged fractionally higher on Tuesday.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both gained 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 21 points, or less than 0.1%.

— Lisa Kailai Han