President Trump said he is considering 25% tariffs on goods from the European Union. Plus: stock in Outback Steakhouse’s parent company fell to its lowest point since 2020 after it projected declining sales. And Nvidia reported earnings after the close. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the closing bell brief for the stock market on February 26th?
Here's your closing bell brief for Wednesday, February 26th. I'm Danny Lewis for The Wall Street Journal. Stocks are struggling to shake off their slump, with major indexes ending the day mixed after fresh tariff threats from President Trump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 188 points to close at 43,433. The S&P 500 stayed flat, and the Nasdaq gained 49 points.
Chapter 2: What are the details of President Trump's new tariff threats against the EU?
Trump added more details to his tariff threats against the European Union today, saying he is considering levying 25% tariffs on a variety of goods, including cars. He didn't say when the import taxes would be imposed, but says many trade actions will come after a trade policy review is completed on April 2nd.
Investors have also been weighing a slew of economic data, leading some to reconsider richly priced tech shares and other riskier assets. In individual companies today, shares of Blumen Brands fell 16.8% after the Outback Steakhouse owner said sales could decline as much as 2% this year. The company's stock price fell to its lowest level since the pandemic-driven market rout of 2020.
And healthcare stocks were battered after House Republicans passed a budget plan that includes deep cuts to Medicaid. The biggest manager of state Medicaid programs, Centene, lost 7.25%, and hospital-owner Community Health Systems fell more than 7%.
After the bell, NVIDIA shares fell 1.6% in after-hours trading despite the chipmaker announcing sharply rising sales and earnings in its latest quarter, both of which beat expectations. We'll have a lot more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your smart speaker or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.