Retail Sales Soar as Shoppers Race to Beat Trump's Tariffs on Cars and iPhones; S&P 500 Futures Drop (Live Update)

March retail sales showed a significant increase on Wednesday as consumers hurried to purchase major items like vehicles. Apple Before the Trump tariff impact, iPhone prices were rising. S&P 500 futures saw premarket drops, largely due to this factor. Nvidia and other AI chipmakers.

Kindly view the video available at Investors.com titled "How Trump Tariffs Might Affect Apple iPhone Costs Amid Rising Tensions with China"

Look for up-to-date coverage of the retail sales report along with associated news and market activities.

Industrial Production Falls

In March, industrial production decreased by 0.3% compared to February, as stated by the Federal Reserve. This figure was somewhat more negative than forecasts, which predicted a drop of only 0.2%.

Manufacturing output increased by 0.3%, slightly surpassing expectations of a 0.2% growth.

The S&P 500 futures dropped by 1.1%, extending their decline as they approached the market open.

S&P 500 Futures Continue Decline

The S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.9% compared to their expected level, but Nvidia continues to be the main factor influencing this movement.

Retail Sales Strong Compared to Last Year

Year after year, sales in March increased by 4.6%. When automobiles and gasoline are not considered, the growth was 4.5%. Both metrics showed a slight increase compared to February’s rate.

S&P 500 Futures Keep Declines

The S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.8%, aligning with their position around the time of the retail sales report release at approximately 8:30 a.m.

Auto Sales Jump

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

Sales at electronics and appliance stores increased by 0.8%.

Retailers specializing in building materials and garden equipment and supplies saw a 3.3% increase.

Retail Sales Headlines

Retail sales increased by 1.4% compared to the previous month, marking the largest increase in two years. This growth matched what economists had anticipated. The boost seen in February remained unrevised at 0.2%.

Sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, increased by 0.8% compared to expectations of 0.4%. The growth in February was also adjusted upward to 0.8%, originally reported as 0.5%.

Retail Sales Seen Jumping

The Commerce Department plans to publish the March retail sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET. According to Econoday, it’s anticipated to rise by 1.4%, following a 0.2% growth in February. Excluding automobiles and gasoline, sales are forecasted to go up by 0.4% after recording a robust 0.5% gain the previous month.

The Federal Reserve will unveil the March industrial production numbers at 9:15 a.m. ET. These figures are expected to show an overall decrease of 0.2%, following February’s robust increase of 0.7%. However, manufacturing production is anticipated to rise slightly by 0.2%, coming off a substantial 0.9% jump from the previous month.

Trump Tariffs

On March 27, President Donald Trump declared a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, which would be implemented on April 3. Vehicles coming into the country from Canada and Mexico won’t have these tariffs applied to U.S.-produced components for now. This decision was made on Monday. Trump said he was "looking to help" to automakers , as plant shutdowns approached and car prices were poised to increase. This provided a boost to several automakers, particularly General Motors and Ford Motor .

In the meantime, Trump has levied 145% duties on items coming from China, 46% on those imported from Vietnam, 24% on Japanese goods, and 20% on products from the European Union under what he calls reciprocal tariffs. Late Friday evening, the Trump administration announced exemptions for Apple iPhones along with numerous technology products from most tariff rates. Shortly after, President Trump indicated his intention to introduce industry-specific taxes on semiconductor devices and electronic equipment within a matter of days.

S&P 500 Futures

The S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.7% compared to the expected level before the release of the retail sales data.

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.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index fell by 0.2%, turning downwards as it encountered resistance at the level of the 21-day exponential moving average.

Follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for updates on the stock market and additional information.

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