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Focus on tariffs, data and Fed

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Trump to announce extensive tariffs on Wednesday

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S&P, Nasdaq eye worst quarter since 2022

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Indexes: Dow up 0.3%, S&P 500 down 0.5%, Nasdaq down 1.4%

(Updates with mid-day trade prices)

By Sruthi Shankar and Pranav Kashyap

March 31 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell on

Monday, with technology stocks leading declines, as investors

steered clear of risk-laden assets on worries the Trump

administration's upcoming tariff plans will hurt economic

growth.

Global stocks tumbled, gold prices scaled new highs and U.S.

government bonds climbed after U.S. President Donald Trump said

on Sunday that reciprocal tariffs he is set to announce on

Wednesday will include all nations.

He has already imposed tariffs on aluminum, steel and autos,

along with increased tariffs on goods from China.

"There's a lot of uncertainty related to (Trump's)

announcement," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist

at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

"Many industries have begun to feel the impact of the

tariffs that have been announced and are making assumptions

about what's likely to follow. That is driving expectations

economic data will continue to be somewhat weak and prices may

very well be moving higher."

U.S. stock markets have sold off this year as the Trump

administration's tariff policies raised fears of a global trade

war that would hurt economic growth and spur inflation.

The three major U.S. indexes are on track for sharp monthly

and quarterly losses, with the S&P 500 and the

tech-centric Nasdaq poised for their steepest quarterly

drops in three years.

By 11:43 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

edged up 0.25% to 41,688.71, helped by gains in UnitedHealth ( UNH )

and Home Depot ( HD ).

The S&P 500 lost 27.28 points, or 0.49%, to 5,553.66,

and the Nasdaq Composite fell 240.50 points, or 1.39%,

to 17,081.65.

Tech stocks were the worst hit, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) falling

3.9% and Microsoft ( MSFT ) down 2.2% as investors worried about

companies' AI spending plans.

Tesla fell 4% after Stifel lowered the

electric-vehicle maker's delivery forecast ahead of Wednesday's

first-quarter report.

The S&P 500 consumer staples sector, often

considered as a safe haven within stock markets, rose about

1.2%, while the energy index jumped 1.3%, tracking a

jump in crude prices.

The domestically focused Russell 2000 index was down

2.4%.

The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's so-called

fear gauge, jumped to a two-week high of 22.44 points.

As a result of tariff uncertainties, Goldman Sachs raised

the probability of a U.S. recession to 35% from 20%, cut its

year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,700 and forecast more

interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Focus this week will also be on economic data including ISM

business activity surveys and the crucial non-farm payrolls

report. Also due this week are speeches from several U.S.

central bank officials including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Drugmakers' shares slid after reports the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration's top vaccine official had been forced to resign.

Moderna ( MRNA ) dropped 8.7%, while Pfizer ( PFE ) fell 0.9%.

Gene therapy companies Taysha Gene Therapies ( TSHA ) and

Solid Biosciences ( SLDB ) fell 25% and 11.7%, respectively.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.53-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and a 2.34-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 45 new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 501 new

lows.