3 of the most striking moves on a wild day for markets

• Tuesday marked the start of Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and additional tariffs on China.
• The sudden trade war has pushed major US indexes into negative territory for the year.
• Big slides in the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the dollar were among Tuesday's most jarring market moves.

President Donald Trump's latest tariffs have triggered a flurry of losses for investors, reversing already waning momentum in the US stock market and sparking a decline in the US dollar.

President Donald Trump's 25% duty on most Canadian and Mexican imports went into effect on Tuesday, alongside an additional 10% tariff increase on goods from China. Energy-related products coming from Canada are now subject to a separate 10% duty.

The moves have already sparked a full trade war, with Canada and China implementing immediate tariffs on US trade. Mexico said it will follow with a Sunday announcement.

For investors, the sudden trade drama is dashing any remaining risk-on sentiment, as tit-for-tat restrictions feed into already high levels of macroeconomic uncertainty.

Here are the three most striking market moves on day one of Trump's tariff enforcement:

1. The S&P 500 solidifies its post-election wipeout

The benchmark S&P 500 index has shed all gains achieved after Donald Trump's presidential win in November.

It was down about 1% Tuesday afternoon, and traded as low as around 5,732, below it's closing level of 5,783 on Election Day.

The so-called "Trump bump" was spurred by post-election enthusiasm for Trump's pro-growth policies, including tax cuts and deregulation.

While tariffs were also a cornerstone of Trump's platform, any concern about a trade war failed to halt the S&P 500's bull run, which took the index more than 7% higher from November to its mid-February peak.

The sell-off slowed by early afternoon, with the index clawing back some of the morning's losses.

2. Nasdaq edges toward a correction

Moves in the Nasdaq Composite are a clear indicator of the risk-off shift in stocks as investors flee some of the biggest tech winners of the last two years.

The tech-heavy index dropped as much as 2% Tuesday morning, hitting an intraday low of 17,956. The index had regained some ground, but a close below 18,156.50 would put it into correction territory, marking a 10% drop from its December 16 high. It is down almost 5% year-to-date.

The Nasdaq's steep falloff in previous days can also be attributed to jitters in dominant tech stocks. Chipmaker Nvidia shed 8% on Monday, following concern over its earnings and trade with China.

3. A surprising dollar slump

The trade war is creating unexpected waves in the US greenback, an asset that had been seen as a winner of Trump's protectionist policy.

Since tariffs are considere inflationary, US interest rates are assumed to stay higher for longer, which supports dollar strength.

Instead, the US dollar index is losing ground. The index, which measures the dollar against a basket of other currencies, has fallen 0.35% in the last 24 hours, and is down 2.14% year-to-date.

"We would not have expected these market moves at the start of the year," wrote George Saravelos, global head of FX research at Deutsche Bank.

In his view, two things explain why the dollar is moving down, despite tariffs.

On one hand, rising policy uncertainty means that investors are pricing in a lower growth differential between the US and foreign economies, which erases the dollar's lead against other currencies.

Saravelos also noted that tariffs and rapid geopolitical shifts might be diminishing the greenback's safe-haven status, a possibility with serious implications.

Historically, the dollar has been embraced world's de facto reserve currency, which has helped support its market dominance.

But there are signs this is shifting, including a declining correlation between the dollar and risk assets, as well as the fact that the US current account deficit now exceeds 4%. Historically, this marks the limits of dollar overvaluation, Saravelos said.