Francesca Fontana

You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Bansi, with supervising producer Michael Kosmitas. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next Saturday.

You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Bansi, with supervising producer Michael Kosmitas. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next Saturday.

Hey, listeners, it's Saturday, March 8th. I'm Francesca Montana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Trade, trade, trade. That was the big story in the stock market as investors and portfolio managers grappled with fears about U.S.

Hey, listeners, it's Saturday, March 8th. I'm Francesca Montana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Trade, trade, trade. That was the big story in the stock market as investors and portfolio managers grappled with fears about U.S.

economic performance amid a ton of policy uncertainty. Don't worry if you missed the latest on all the rapid-fire tariff updates this week. I will run through those in a bit. On a broader level, we've been seeing U.S. consumer confidence slipping on fears of rising prices, which was a thread we saw in some of the retail movers this week. I'll come back to those in a minute, too.

economic performance amid a ton of policy uncertainty. Don't worry if you missed the latest on all the rapid-fire tariff updates this week. I will run through those in a bit. On a broader level, we've been seeing U.S. consumer confidence slipping on fears of rising prices, which was a thread we saw in some of the retail movers this week. I'll come back to those in a minute, too.

Then, of course, there was Thursday's big sell-off, with chip stocks in particular getting hammered as investors searched through AI chip makers' results, looking for the next big thing, the next NVIDIA, if you will. And while the indexes managed to end Friday in the black, they each notched losses for the week. The Dow fell more than 2%, the S&P lost more than 3%, and the Nasdaq fell about 3.5%.

Then, of course, there was Thursday's big sell-off, with chip stocks in particular getting hammered as investors searched through AI chip makers' results, looking for the next big thing, the next NVIDIA, if you will. And while the indexes managed to end Friday in the black, they each notched losses for the week. The Dow fell more than 2%, the S&P lost more than 3%, and the Nasdaq fell about 3.5%.

First up, let's set our target on Target, the Red Bull's eye, the American retail giant. This week, Target was the latest retailer to warn investors about the looming impacts of higher tariffs and consumer uncertainty. Like I said before, shoppers are worried that they'll be seeing a lot of price tags going up.

First up, let's set our target on Target, the Red Bull's eye, the American retail giant. This week, Target was the latest retailer to warn investors about the looming impacts of higher tariffs and consumer uncertainty. Like I said before, shoppers are worried that they'll be seeing a lot of price tags going up.

So on Tuesday, Target said its February sales fell year over year, and the company warned that its sales could be flat this year. A similar reading from Walmart spooked investors last month when executives set lower-than-expected fiscal year revenue and profit targets.

So on Tuesday, Target said its February sales fell year over year, and the company warned that its sales could be flat this year. A similar reading from Walmart spooked investors last month when executives set lower-than-expected fiscal year revenue and profit targets.

And it seemed like Target investors got spooked, too, because its shares fell 3% on Tuesday and the stock ended the week down more than 7%. And Target wasn't alone. Another retail stock, Best Buy, took a hit after saying tariffs might curb demand for its electronics due to higher prices. Best Buy shares took a dive after that, sliding about 13% on Tuesday. And on the week, they lost roughly 12%.

And it seemed like Target investors got spooked, too, because its shares fell 3% on Tuesday and the stock ended the week down more than 7%. And Target wasn't alone. Another retail stock, Best Buy, took a hit after saying tariffs might curb demand for its electronics due to higher prices. Best Buy shares took a dive after that, sliding about 13% on Tuesday. And on the week, they lost roughly 12%.

So we're seeing how the trade policy atmosphere has been weighing on stocks through Tuesday, which was when those Mexico and Canada tariffs took effect. That brings us to Wednesday, where this week's tariff play-by-play really ramps up. OK, so we're going to move fast. And we're going to focus on global auto stocks, which are especially vulnerable. All right? Got it? Great. Let's go. Tuesday.

So we're seeing how the trade policy atmosphere has been weighing on stocks through Tuesday, which was when those Mexico and Canada tariffs took effect. That brings us to Wednesday, where this week's tariff play-by-play really ramps up. OK, so we're going to move fast. And we're going to focus on global auto stocks, which are especially vulnerable. All right? Got it? Great. Let's go. Tuesday.

The tariffs are here. Wednesday. The White House says, eh, not so fast. Actually, automakers, you're getting a one-month reprieve from the levies for cars that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. Auto stocks cheer. U.S.-traded shares of Toyota Motor, for one, jump 6.5%. But that's not all.

The tariffs are here. Wednesday. The White House says, eh, not so fast. Actually, automakers, you're getting a one-month reprieve from the levies for cars that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. Auto stocks cheer. U.S.-traded shares of Toyota Motor, for one, jump 6.5%. But that's not all.

Thursday morning, we get Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CNBC saying that one-month reprieve might be extended beyond automakers. And later that day, President Trump suspends the tariffs on goods that fall under the USMCA until April 2nd. But like I mentioned, investors weren't sure what to make of all these sudden changes, and stocks fell anyway.

Thursday morning, we get Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CNBC saying that one-month reprieve might be extended beyond automakers. And later that day, President Trump suspends the tariffs on goods that fall under the USMCA until April 2nd. But like I mentioned, investors weren't sure what to make of all these sudden changes, and stocks fell anyway.