Retail Sales Jump Most In Two Years In Rush To Buy Autos, iPhones Before Trump Tariffs; S&P 500 Falls

Retail sales for March rose strongly Wednesday morning as consumers rushed to buy big-ticket items such as autos and Apple (AAPL) iPhones before Trump tariffs push prices higher. S&P 500 futures held premarket declines, dragged down by Nvidia (NVDA) and other AI chipmakers.

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9:37 a.m. ET

S&P 500 Opens Lower

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% in morning trade and the Nasdaq lost 1.6% as Nvidia stock sank more than 5%.

9:20 a.m. ET

Industrial Production Falls

March industrial production fell 0.3% vs. February, the Federal Reserve reported. That was slightly worse than estimates for a 0.2% decline.

Manufacturing output grew 0.3%, just beating views for a 0.2% rise.

S&P 500 futures fell 1.1%, continuing to weaken toward the opening bell.

8:50 a.m. ET

S&P 500 Futures Extend Losses

S&P 500 futures fell 0.9% vs. fair value, though the primary driver remains Nvidia.

8:47 a.m. ET

Retail Sales Solid Vs. a Year Earlier

Year over year, March sales grew 4.6%. Sales excluding autos and gasoline advanced 4.5%. Both picked up slightly vs. February’s pace.

8:38 a.m. ET

S&P 500 Futures Hold Losses

S&P 500 futures fell 0.8% vs. fair value, roughly where they were before the 8:30 a.m. retail sales report.

8:36 a.m. ET

Auto Sales Jump

Motor vehicle and parts dealers saw a 5.3% sales gain vs. February.

Electronics and appliance store sales climbed 0.8%.

Building material and garden equipment and supplies retailers enjoyed a 3.3% jump.

8:31 a.m. ET

Retail Sales Headlines

Retail sales rose 1.4% vs. the prior month, the biggest gain in two years. Economists expected a 1.4% gain. February’s rise was unchanged at 0.2%.

Sales excluding autos and gasoline climbed 0.8% vs. forecasts for 0.4%. February’s gain was revised up to 0.8% from 0.5%.

Retail Sales Seen Jumping

The Commerce Department is set to release the March retail sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET. It’s expected to jump 1.4%, according to Econoday, after a 0.2% increase in February. Sales excluding autos and gasoline should climb 0.4% after the prior month’s solid 0.5% advance.

At 9:15 a.m. ET, the Federal Reserve is due to release March industrial production figures. Overall output is seen falling 0.2% after February’s solid 0.7% gain. Manufacturing production should climb 0.2% after a strong 0.9% gain in the prior month.

Trump Tariffs

President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on imported autos on March 27, with those duties taking effect on April 3. Autos imported from Canada and Mexico will not pay tariffs on U.S.-made parts, at least right away. On Monday, Trump said he was “looking to help” to automakers, with plant shutdowns looming and vehicle prices set to spike. That gave a lift to a few automakers, notably General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor (F).

Meanwhile, Trump has imposed 145% tariffs on goods from China, 46% on goods from Vietnam, 24% on Japan, 20% on the European Union as part of the so-called reciprocal tariffs. On Friday night, the Trump administration exempted the Apple iPhone and a slew of tech products from most tariffs. President Trump soon clarified that he’ll impose sector tariffs on semiconductors and electronics in a few days.

S&P 500 Futures

S&P 500 futures fell 0.7% vs. fair value ahead of the retail sales report.

Nvidia stock, a Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite giant, fell sharply on new AI chip export curbs on China sales. Several other AI chipmakers retreated.

The S&P 500 index dipped 0.2% on Tuesday, reversing lower after hitting resistance at the 21-day exponential moving average.