[New York Stock Market] Uncertainty Over Trump’s New Tariffs Rises...All Three Major Indexes Fall

The three major U.S. New York stock indexes opened lower on February 22 (local time) amid uncertainty triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats.

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As of 10:01 a.m. on the same day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) was down 386.06 points, or 0.77%, from the previous session at 49,239.91. The large-cap S&P 500 Index was down 25.79 points, or 0.37%, at 6,883.72, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was trading at 22,787.55, down 98.52 points, or 0.43%.

The U.S. stock market is falling because Trump’s new tariffs have deepened uncertainty over global trade. On February 20 (local time), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s tariff imposition based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was illegal.

In response, President Trump held a press conference and declared, “Under Section 122 of the Trade Act, we will impose a 10% global tariff on top of the existing tariffs.” Just one day later, on the 21st, he announced that he would raise the global tariff rate to 15%.

Due to President Trump’s new tariffs, the effective tariff rate is expected to be about 1 percentage point lower than it was before the Supreme Court ruling. However, analysts say concerns over policy confusion on tariffs and the possibility of retaliation by the Trump administration are weighing on the stock market.

Carsten Brzeski, Global Head of Macro at ING, said, “Uncertainty is back,” adding, “The risk of escalating conflict between the United States and its trading partners is higher than it was a year ago.”

Among major stocks by market capitalization, performance was mixed. Nvidia was up 0.99%, Apple up 0.98%, TSMC up 0.47%, Alphabet Class A up 0.43%, Broadcom up 1.34%, Walmart up 2.40%, and Eli Lilly up 3.54%. In contrast, Microsoft was down 2.12%, Amazon.com down 2.50%, Tesla down 1.96%, and Meta down 1.02%.

Nvidia rose after Aletheia Capital upgraded the stock to a buy rating, saying its share price was undervalued ahead of its earnings release. Nvidia had been moving sideways for several months and, as of the end of the fourth quarter, was one of the most undervalued names among the big tech stocks.

Technology stocks broadly weakened slightly after news that OpenAI told investors it plans to invest about 6,000 dollars in infrastructure by 2030. Earlier, OpenAI had said it would invest more than 1.4 trillion dollars.

Shares of Novo Nordisk fell more than 14% after clinical trial results showed that the effectiveness of its next-generation obesity treatment lagged behind that of a competing product from Eli Lilly. Domino’s Pizza climbed about 4% after reporting that same-store sales in the United States exceeded expectations and announcing a dividend increase.

Airline stocks weakened as a massive snowstorm that hit the U.S. Northeast led to flight cancellations. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines all fell by around 4%.

International oil prices were strong. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April 2026 delivery was up 1.01% from the previous session at 67.15 dollars per barrel.

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