Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the West Wing after doing a television interview on the North Lawn of the White House on March 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.
- The S&P 500 closed in correction territory as the stock market continues its three-week tumble.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he is "not concerned" about recent market volatility.
- Spirit Airlines is setting its sights on rival carrier Southwest.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
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1. Course correction
Stocks continued their three-week tumble on Thursday as President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs and doubled down on the broad group of duties set to take effect April 2. The S&P 500 sank about 1.4% to close in correction territory, while the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its fourth-straight day of declines, falling 537.36 points, or 1.3%. All three indexes have shed more than 4% this week, with the Dow on pace for its worst week since June 2022. Follow live market updates.
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2. 'Not concerned'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off questions about the stock market's recent losses Thursday, telling CNBC's Sara Eisen that he's "not concerned about a little bit of volatility over three weeks." Trump's Treasury chief said the White House is more focused on the long-term health of the economy, which he predicted would prosper over time along with markets. Bessent also responded to Trump's new threats to impose 200% tariffs on Champagne and other alcohol from the European Union. "One or two items with one trading bloc, I'm not sure why that's a big deal for the markets," he said.
3. Yes, but
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Russia is "in favor" of the U.S.-led ceasefire plan for the war in Ukraine, but he stopped short of singing a deal, saying "there are issues that need to be discussed." Putin in his remarks said that any deal must "lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis," according to an NBC translation, and suggested that he wants to speak to President Trump before an agreement. Ukraine agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire on Tuesday, but only if Russia accepted the plan.
4. On your tail
Fresh out of bankruptcy, Spirit Airlines is setting its sights on Southwest Airlines, which earlier this week announced plans to start charging passengers for checked bags. "I think it's going to be painful for a little bit as they find their footing, and we're going to take advantage of that," Spirit CEO Ted Christie said, referring to the the surprise change to Southwest's long-held policy of two free checked bags. Christie said he thinks Spirit — which takes an a-la-carte approach to pricing — can win over fliers as Southwest begins charging for bags and moving away from its open-seating model.
5. Namesake
Nvidia is continuing its tradition of naming its products after women and minority scientists with its latest AI chip platform named after Vera Rubin. Rubin, who died in 2016, was an American astronomer known for discovering dark matter. Her first name will refer to Nvidia's next-generation central processor, while her last name will refer to the chipmaker's new GPU. Nvidia's previous chip families have been named after David Blackwell, the first Black American in the National Academy of Sciences, and Grace Hopper, who coined the term "bug" for a computer glitch.
Money Report
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han, Pia Singh, Alex Harring, Kevin Breuninger, Jeff Cox, Jenni Reid, Holly Ellyatt, Leslie Josephs and Kif Leswing contributed to this report.
