4:12pm: In the red
US stocks fell Tuesday amid uncertainty over the legality of President Trump’s global tariffs.
Trump said his administration would seek an immediate Supreme Court hearing after the US Court of Appeals ruled Friday that most of the tariffs were illegal.
The decision upheld an earlier ruling from the US Court of International Trade, which found Trump exceeded his authority by invoking emergency powers.
Calling it an “economic emergency” on CNN commentator Scott Jennings’ radio show, Trump warned of severe consequences if the decision stands.
The appeals court allowed the tariffs to remain in effect during the appeals process.
The Nasdaq led Tuesday’s declines, down 0.8% at 21,279 points. The S&P 500 was down 0.7% at 6,415 points and the Dow Jones fell 0.6% at 45,295 points.
Gold, on the other hand, continued to gain, adding 2.4% to cross $3,600 per ounce.
3:47pm: Proactive news headlines
- Noble Capital Markets analysts have highlighted MustGrow Biologics Corp. (TSX-V:MGRO, OTCQB:MGROF)’s growing commercial traction following the company’s second quarter results.
- Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) (OPT) announced it is shipping two WAM-V Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) to Remah International Group, a privately held company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a focus on military services.
- Medicus Pharma (NASDAQ:MDCX) reported that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Antev Limited, a UK-based clinical-stage drug development company.
- Candel Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CADL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on viral immunotherapies, announced the appointment of Dr Carl June to its Research Advisory Board.
- Digi Power X Inc (NASDAQ:DGXX, TSX-V:DGX) reported that it increased its digital asset holdings during August and provided an update on its strategic shift toward artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, including construction at its Alabama site.
- G Mining Ventures Corp (TSX:GMIN, OTCQX:GMINF) reported that it has received the Environmental Permit from Guyana's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Oko West Gold Project.
- Meren Energy Inc (TSX:MER, OTC:AOIFF) has announced several changes to its executive leadership team as part of an organizational streamlining initiative.
- Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF) announced that it has increased the size of its previously announced non-brokered private placement following strong investor demand.
- Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF) announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter 2026, in which the company achieved its highest ever gross margins of 90%, compared with 74% during the same period last year.
2:52pm: Market movers
- United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) shares surged more than 35% following the release of positive late-stage clinical trial results for its lung disease drug Tyvaso.
- Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) shares sank nearly 7% on Tuesday after the producer of alcoholic beverages reduced its fiscal full-year outlook, citing a “challenging” economy that is hurting its alcohol sales.
- Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC, ETR:KHNZ) shares fell almost 7% on Tuesday after it announced plans to divide into two separate, publicly traded companies, marking a reversal of the 2015 merger that created the current food conglomerate.
- PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP, ETR:PEP) shares moved up as much 5% after activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed it had acquired a $4 billion equity stake in the beverage and snacks giant.
1:17pm: Volatile session
A ruling against Trump’s tariffs caused global uncertainty, resulting in a spike in yields and volatility during Tuesday’s session.
“Treasury yields and volatility spiked while tech stocks slumped to start the short week after a court decision ruled most of President Trump's tariffs illegal,” Charles Schwab head trading and derivatives strategist Joe Mazzola said.
“The tariffs remain in place on appeal, but the news has markets on edge, judging by global yield climbs. Seasonal trends also came into play, with September traditionally Wall Street's worst month and a strong earnings season virtually over.
12:01pm: September slump
September is already living up to its reputation as historically the worst month for US stocks, with the Nasdaq down 1.8%, the S&P 500 down 1.5% and the Dow Jones down 1.2% in the early afternoon on Tuesday.
“Markets often see a burst of volatility after US holidays, but today seemed to have something more about it, as European markets nose dived in early trading and bond yields continued to rise," IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
"The start of the US cash session saw a recovery off the lows, a sign that dip buyers remain vigilant for any chance to get in on the action. A seemingly cryptic announcement from the White House was revealed to be merely an update on Space Command, at which point any wild fears about the health of the US president were quietly dropped.”
11:23am: Week ahead
US markets are set for a shortened trading week as Wall Street returns from the Labor Day holiday on Tuesday.
Despite the quiet start, investors will have plenty to digest, with the highlight arriving on Friday in the form of the August nonfarm payrolls report.
The jobs data will be the main event of the week, according to Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
“The US labor market report is always the highlight of the economic calendar at the start of the month,” Brooks wrote. “The August report will be even more important than usual since it is the last report before the September Federal Reserve meeting.”
Markets currently price in a high likelihood of a rate cut when policymakers meet on September 17.
After July’s weaker-than-expected payrolls and historic downward revisions to May and June, traders will be watching closely for signs of further softening.
Consensus expectations call for around 75,000 to 100,000 new jobs in August, with the unemployment rate edging up to 4.3% from 4.2%. Average hourly earnings are projected to ease slightly.
“A weak report will solidify expectations of a cut from the Fed even more, while a stronger-than-expected report could trigger a recalibration of the market’s expectations for interest rates,” Brooks wrote.
9:55am: Stocks drop after long weekend
US stocks have gapped down in opening trades.
The big three indices were all down around 1.3% initally, while the domestically focused Russell 2000 is down 2%.
Already, the worst of the losses have been pared, with the Dow at an 0.8% deficit, while the S&P and Nasdaq ease to a 1% decline.
The biggest fall on the S&P are for aircraft components maker Transdigm Group, down 7%, Corona brewer Constellation Brands has dropped 6.1%, chemicals group Albemarle and fintech Block Inc are next.
On the Nasdaq, its Lam Research, Micron Technology, Qualcomm, and Applovin.
Nvidia is down 1.9%, with all the Mag 7 in the red, with Alphabet, Amazon all down almost 2% too.
9:25am: Stock futures continue to fall
US stock futures are continuing to slide in the information vacuum ahead of a promised Oval Office announcement.
President Trump’s speech will be at 2pm US Eastern Time today and will be "related to the Department of Defense," according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Nasdaq futures have now fallen 1.5% and S&P futures are 1.1% in the red, with those for the Dow 0.9% lower.
Earlier, and most probably unrelated to the later speech, the President fired off a couple of posts on social media about crime in Chicago, "the worst and most dangerous city in the world" and that Illinois Governor JD Pritzker "needs help badly".
Gold, which last night hit a new high above $3,500 an ounce, is holding at around $3,485/oz.
7:30am: Nasdaq set to lead losses after long weekend
Wall Street futures sank lower ahead of the first opening bell of the holiday-shortened week as investors awaited a scheduled Oval Office announcement from President Donald Trump.
S&P 500 futures were down almost 0.75%, while those for the Nasdaq were almost 1% lower and Dow Jones futures were down 0.55%.
Shares in semiconductor giant Nvidia were down 2.2% premarket, along with falls for sector peers Broadcom and AMD and others such as Palantir, weighing on the wider indices as the sell-off continued in the wake of the chipmaker's earnings two weeks ago.
US stock markets were closed on Monday for Labor Day, extending the wait for the White House's reaction to the court ruling that said most of Trump's tariffs are illegal.
Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Supreme Court would side with the Trump administration over the legality of tariffs and that there were other means to get tariffs to stick, citing the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.
Market analysts, sparked by memories of the classroom scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, noted that the mooted 1930 act "did not work and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression".
Neil Wilson at Saxo in London said: "Markets don’t like talk of this sort. Smoot-Hawley is widely regarded as a stunning example of economic self-harm."
But he added that markets "should be used to the volatile and erratic application of Trump’s economic policies, particularly with regard to tariffs".
Trump's scheduled Oval Office announcement was in focus for investors, said analyst Russ Mould at AJ Bell, though the exact contents of the speech were unknown.
"There is wide-ranging speculation about the possible content of the announcement, but it’s impossible to say ahead of the speech whether it will move markets or not," he said.
In company news, PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) shares rose 3.6% in pre-market trading after news emerged that Elliott Management has taken a $4 billion position.
Elsewhere, buy-now-pay-later fintech Klarna Group PLC confirmed that the launch of its IPO, with the aim of raising up to $1.3 billion.