US Equity Indexes Retreat While Gold Surges Ahead of Potential Trade Tariff Announcements

US equity indexes dropped after midday Monday, with technology leading the decliners and gold futures surging ahead of the Trump administration's upcoming tariff announcements. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6% to 18,544.5, with the S&P 500 down 1.1% to 5,888.7 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.9% lower at 43,462.1. Technology and energy led the decliners, while real estate was among the three gainers intraday. March 4 marks the end of the month-long period that President Donald Trump gave to China, Canada, and Mexico after he announced plans to impose punitive import tariffs on the US' three largest trading partners. The situation is "fluid," and Trump will determine the level of tariffs, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly said Sunday. Gold futures soared 1.8% to $2,899.80, and their silver counterparts advanced 2.5% to $32.28. The CBOE's volatility index VIX, which was trading down earlier in the session, jumped 8% to 21.19. In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 50.3 in February from 50.9 in January, compared with expectations of 50.8 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. "US manufacturing activity expanded marginally for the second month in a row in February after 26 consecutive months of contraction," ISM Manufacturing Committee Chairman Timothy Fiore said. "Demand weakened, while output stabilized and inputs, for the first time in several months, contributed to PMI growth." Further, in economic news, US construction spending fell by 0.2% in January, compared with a 0.1% decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and a 0.5% increase in January. Investors are awaiting Friday's nonfarm payrolls data, which will offer the Fed another glimpse at the state of the labor market ahead of the monetary policy announcements. There is a 93% probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged on March 19, according to the FedWatch Tool Monday. Geopolitics will remain at the top of investors' agenda this week following the diplomatic earthquake at the Oval Office Friday. The focus will be on how the European Union and the UK propose to end the Russia-Ukraine war while keeping the US on board and the minerals deal in play. US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 2-year down one basis point to 3.99% while the 10-year dropped 5.5 basis points to 4.17%. In company news, multiple news outlets reported Monday that servers linked to a fraud case in Singapore may have included Nvidia (NVDA) chips and were supplied by Dell Technologies (DELL) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) to local companies before being delivered to Malaysia, citing Singapore's Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. Shares of Super Micro dropped 8.8% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500. Nvidia retreated 7.6% intraday, the steepest decliner on the Nasdaq and the Dow. Shares of Dell slid 5.3% intraday. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 2.6% to $67.96 a barrel.