CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Lower, Investors Confused About Tariffs, Announced Job Cuts In February Highest In 5 Years 3/6/25

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Ebinger, CNBC. An ugly morning on Wall Street. Red out of the gate for the major averages amid tariff confusion, growth worries. The Dow is plunging 514 points, more than 1 percent. Nvidia shares leading at lower, they're down 3.5 percent. The S&P 500 index down 84 points, 1.5 percent. and the NASDAQ down 324 points. That's one and three quarters percent. Investors are scratching their heads over tariffs, especially tariffs on goods coming in from Canada. It's tariffs.

It's the concern ultimately about what that's going to mean for the economy. Canadians not traveling to the U.S. this year, we got their liquor stores pulling U.S. liquor. We got Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, pulling the Starlink deal, the second biggest market for Starlink. Meanwhile, 25% tariffs on Canada is going to be horrible for their economy.

It's going to crush them. Horrible? Paul Ryan Reynolds, he's like the greatest. This is a celebrity presidency. CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla and David Faber. Job cut announcements soared to their highest in five years. As Elon Musk and Doge slash federal workers announced job cuts in February surging by 245% to the

highest level since the pandemic with the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce playing, not the only, but the biggest part in that. The outplacement firm Challenger Grey Christmas, they're saying that announced February layoffs rose to 172,000. It's the highest monthly number since July 2020, the worst February since 2009.

The bulk of government job cuts are likely too recent to show up in tomorrow's jobs report. Workers won't be counted as unemployed until their severance runs out. CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Leesman. The VA, Veterans Administration, and the Education Department appear to be next on the chopping block. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency now has a list of nearly 600 contracts at the VA to be canceled. The Doge Agency acknowledged that some of the canceled contracts had already been fully paid for. Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge parents, Stellantis, publicly thanking President Trump for granting the one-month exemption on tariffs on autos. Millions of cars sold in the U.S.

are assembled in Canada and Mexico, and more than half the parts on some popular models are shipped from those countries. Macy's shares lowered a day, even though the retailer swung to a profit in the fourth quarter. Sales dipped in the holiday quarter and came in below expectations. Its forecast for this year is cloudy with an uncertain U.S. consumer. Jessica Edinger, CNBC.