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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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Futures down: Dow 0.7%, S&P 500 1%, Nasdaq 1.4%

(Updates with prices before opening bell)

By Sruthi Shankar and Pranav Kashyap

March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were on course

to open sharply lower on Monday as investors shied away from

risky assets on mounting concerns that the Trump

administration's upcoming announcement of extensive tariff plans

could hurt the global economy.

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 this

week will include all nations.

Trump, who sees tariffs as a way of protecting the domestic

economy from unfair global competition, has promised to unveil a

massive tariff plan on Wednesday, which he has dubbed

"Liberation Day". He has already imposed tariffs on aluminum,

steel and autos, along with increased tariffs on goods from

China.

U.S. stock markets have succumbed to sharp selling pressure

this year after the Trump administration's tariff policies

raised fears of a global economic slowdown and a spike in

inflation.

"Quite a lot negativity has been priced in, but markets are

bracing for the worst to come," said Daniela Hathorn, senior

market analyst at Capital.com. "The messaging around tariffs

softening seems highly unlikely, given Trump's comments over the

weekend."

The three major U.S. indexes were set for big monthly and

quarterly declines, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the

tech-heavy Nasdaq set for their worst quarterly

performances in about three years.

The blue-chip Dow index is teetering just about 2%

away from confirming a correction, or a 10% decline from its

all-time high. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq confirmed earlier this

month they have been in a correction.

By 8:28 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were down 57.25

points, or 1.02%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis dropped 273.5

points, or 1.41% and Dow E-minis slid 275 points, or

0.66%.

Futures tracking the domestically focused Russell 2000 index

were down 1.3%.

Tech stocks were at the forefront of the selloff on Monday,

with Nvidia ( NVDA ) down 4% in premarket trading. Microsoft ( MSFT )

fell 1.4% and Tesla slid 5%.

Brokerage Stifel lowered Tesla's deliveries forecast ahead

of the announcement on Wednesday.

The CBOE Volatility index, also known as Wall

Street's fear gauge, touched a more than two-week high at 24.07

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 and forecast more rate cuts by

the Federal Reserve.

The 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 that the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration's top vaccine official had been forced to

resign.

Moderna ( MRNA ) slumped 10% and Pfizer ( PFE ) fell 1.2%.

Gene therapy-focused companies Taysha Gene Therapies ( TSHA )

and Solid Biosciences ( SLDB ) were down 12% and 6.5%,

respectively, while U.S.-listed shares of CRISPR Therapeutics

lost 4.6%.