{"id":42555,"date":"2026-02-23T19:01:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/?p=42555"},"modified":"2026-02-23T19:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:01:12","slug":"sp-500-down-as-sell-america-trade-rekindles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/analysis\/sp-500-down-as-sell-america-trade-rekindles\/","title":{"rendered":"S&amp;P 500 Down as \u201cSell America\u201d Trade Rekindles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"573\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/Nas4-1024x573.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42557\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>S&amp;P 500 futures fell 0.5%, Nasdaq futures dropped 0.6%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trump imposes new 15% tariff after Supreme Court ruling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gold rises 0.6%, dollar weakens, Treasury yields edge lower.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>US equity futures declined on Monday as markets reacted to fresh uncertainty around American trade policy. President Donald Trump imposed a new <strong>15% tariff <\/strong>following the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to strike down his sweeping emergency tariffs, reigniting concerns about policy volatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">US to stop collecting tariffs deemed illegal by Supreme Court on Tuesday <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cC5IJ7vyjD\">https:\/\/t.co\/cC5IJ7vyjD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cC5IJ7vyjD\">https:\/\/t.co\/cC5IJ7vyjD<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Reuters (@Reuters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Reuters\/status\/2025840589414060173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>S&amp;P 500 futures fell <strong>0.5%<\/strong>, while Nasdaq futures dropped <strong>0.6%<\/strong>, reflecting renewed pressure on risk assets. Traders struggled to assess the scope and duration of the revised tariff structure, with questions remaining over implementation timelines and exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Supreme Court had invalidated Trump\u2019s prior emergency-based tariffs on Friday. In response, the administration initially proposed a 10% universal tariff before lifting it to 15% over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">US President Donald Trump\u2019s trade policy is in disarray. Winners include rivals China, India and Brazil, which will now see lower tariff rates on shipments to the US as Trump\u2019s competitive penalties evaporate: Here is your Evening Briefing. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GtvrPL4Qke\">https:\/\/t.co\/GtvrPL4Qke<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bloomberg (@business) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/business\/status\/2025871793106407726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The rapid sequence of announcements has unsettled markets and revived elements of the \u201csell America\u201d narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Safe Havens Gain as Dollar Slips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The dollar weakened alongside equities. USDJPY fell 0.21% to 154.76, while EURUSD climbed 0.23% to 1.1807.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gold climbed <strong>0.6% to $5,134 per ounce<\/strong>, while silver advanced <strong>2% to $86.23<\/strong>, reflecting defensive flows. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DkMy0pPJgy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Treasury yields edged lower<\/a>, with the US 10-year yield slipping one basis point to <strong>4.077%<\/strong>, signalling mild demand for government bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the Yale Budget Lab estimated the effective average tariff rate may now stand at <strong>13.7%<\/strong>, down from 16% before the court ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the new tariffs expire after 150 days under the 1974 Trade Act framework, the average rate could fall further to 9.1%. However, clarity remains limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Technical Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The S&amp;P 500 is trading near <strong>6,898<\/strong>, down about 0.2% on the session, as the index consolidates below the recent swing high at <strong>7,017<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The broader trend remains constructive, but price action over the past few weeks reflects a loss of upside momentum and a shift into a range-bound structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/1_image-25-1024x474.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42556\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the daily chart, price is hovering around the cluster of short-term moving averages, with the <strong>5-day (6,880)<\/strong> and <strong>10-day (6,881)<\/strong> nearly flat and the <strong>20-day (6,908)<\/strong> and <strong>30-day (6,910)<\/strong> sitting just overhead. This tight compression suggests the market is at a decision point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A sustained break above the 20\u201330 day zone could re-open the path toward the <strong>7,000\u20137,050<\/strong> area, while failure to hold current levels may trigger a deeper pullback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immediate support lies around <strong>6,750\u20136,800<\/strong>, followed by stronger structural support near <strong>6,600<\/strong>, where prior demand emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A decisive move below 6,750 would shift the short-term bias lower, while a breakout above 7,000 would restore bullish momentum and reinforce the longer-term uptrend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Cautious Outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The S&amp;P 500 remains technically stable but vulnerable. Policy uncertainty has reintroduced headline risk, and markets now face a potential cycle of tariff announcements and legal reversals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If trade ambiguity persists and the dollar continues to weaken, safe-haven demand may remain elevated at the expense of equities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, strong corporate earnings, particularly from mega-cap technology names, could stabilise sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, the index holds within a defined range. A decisive break above 7,000 would restore bullish momentum, while sustained weakness below 6,750 would signal a deeper correction. The next directional move will likely depend on clarity around tariff implementation and upcoming earnings catalysts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more about trading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/indices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Indices<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">VT Markets<\/a> today.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>S&amp;P 500 futures fall 0.5% as new 15% US tariff fuels policy uncertainty. Safe havens gain while yields edge lower. | VT Markets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":42557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[11,69],"class_list":["post-42555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-indices","tag-sp500"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}