04:41 PM EST, 03/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed lower Tuesday as Canada and China retaliated against the Trump administration's trade tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.6% to 42,521, while the S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 5,778.2. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.4% to 18,285.2. Barring technology, which was little changed, all sectors lost ground, led by financials as major banks tumbled.

President Donald Trump's recently announced 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, while the US government doubled its levy on Chinese imports to 20%.

Beijing announced 15% tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imports and a 10% levy on certain other products. Canada reportedly vowed to implement a 25% tariff on CA$30 billion ($20.65 billion) worth of US goods immediately, followed by an additional CA$125 billion in three weeks' time.

"Please explain to (Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) that when he puts on a retaliatory tariff on the US, our reciprocal tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!" Trump said in a social media post.

Mexico's response is expected Sunday, media outlets reported, citing President Claudia Sheinbaum.

"The latest (tariff) moves are expected to create ripples in the relationship with (America's) largest trading partners and, at least in the near term, potentially result in some supply chain disturbances and/or add additional price pressures, with roughly $1.5 trillion in goods potentially impacted," Stifel said in a Tuesday note.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the two-year rate little changed at 3.98% and the 10-year rate rising 6.2 basis points to 4.242%.

In company news, Best Buy ( BBY ) flagged potential price increases amid tariff uncertainties and issued a full-year earnings outlook that fell short of Wall Street estimates at the midpoint. The electronics retailer's shares slumped 13%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

Target ( TGT ) shares fell 3% after the retailer said it expected uncertainties related to consumer spending and tariffs to weigh on its profit in the ongoing three-month period.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was the best performer on the Dow, up 1.7%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) is nearing a deal with private-equity firm Sycamore Partners to take itself private for approximately $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday, citing unnamed sources. Walgreens' shares gained 5.6% Tuesday, among the top S&P 500 gainers.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.4% at $68.09 a barrel.

Gold rose 0.9% to $2,927.70 per troy ounce, while silver increased 0.8% to $32.57 per ounce.