US stocks were mixed on Monday as a looming deadline fueled uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and investors looked ahead to the monthly jobs report and key retail earnings.
The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) fell 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) erased early morning gains to fall 0.4% after the release of weak manufacturing data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) hovered near the flat line, as the major US indexes came off a volatile week and a losing February.
March trading is kicking off with investors encountering more questions than answers as tariff deadlines loom , the Federal Reserve's next meeting fast approaches, and the US economy faces the test of disproving investors' fears about growth .
Data out Monday morning showed activity in the manufacturing sector grew less than expected in February, while costs increased.
Tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect on Tuesday , with no indication that a planned March 4 implementation date will be pushed back again. While 25% duties are planned, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that they could be lower by describing it as a "fluid situation." New tariffs on China are also due on March 4, with Beijing said to be eyeing retaliatory measures on US agricultural products.
Elsewhere, European leaders' weekend effort to rally around Ukraine prompted traders to boost bets on a bump in defense spending in the region, lifting related stocks.
The week will bring a crucial jobs report and a batch of retail earnings that could feed or ease concerns about an economic downturn and consumer resilience. The February nonfarm-payrolls report on Friday is expected to show modest job growth , with the unemployment rate steady at 4%.
And in retail earnings ahead, results from Target ( TGT ) on Tuesday and Costco ( COST ) are in focus for what they reveal about American shoppers. Data last week showed consumer spending unexpectedly fell in January by the most in four years.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies got a boost after Trump said on Sunday that five digital assets — bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), ether ( ETH-USD ), XRP ( XRP-USD ), solana ( SOL-USD ), and cardano ( ADA-USD ) — would be included in a new US strategic cryptocurrency reserve . Prices of those tokens on Monday held onto much of the sharp gains booked following the post on social media by the president, with bitcoin trading around $91,700.
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