US STOCKS-Wall Street set to slide as tariffs spark recession fears

By Sruthi Shankar and Pranav Kashyap

March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were on course to open sharply lower on Monday as investors shied away from risky assets on mounting concerns that the Trump administration's upcoming announcement of extensive tariff plans could hurt the global economy.

Global stocks tumbled, gold prices scaled new highs and U.S. government bonds climbed after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that reciprocal tariffs he is set to announce this week will include all nations.

Trump, who sees tariffs as a way of protecting the domestic economy from unfair global competition, has promised to unveil a massive tariff plan on Wednesday, which he has dubbed "Liberation Day". He has already imposed tariffs on aluminum, steel and autos, along with increased tariffs on goods from China.

U.S. stock markets have succumbed to sharp selling pressure this year after the Trump administration's tariff policies raised fears of a global economic slowdown and a spike in inflation.

"Quite a lot negativity has been priced in, but markets are bracing for the worst to come," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. "The messaging around tariffs softening seems highly unlikely, given Trump's comments over the weekend."

The three major U.S. indexes were set for big monthly and quarterly declines, with the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC set for their worst quarterly performances in about three years.

The blue-chip Dow index .DJI is teetering just about 2% away from confirming a correction, or a 10% decline from its all-time high. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq confirmed earlier this month they have been in a correction.

By 8:28 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 57.25 points, or 1.02%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 dropped 273.5 points, or 1.41% and Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 slid 275 points, or 0.66%.

Futures tracking the domestically focused Russell 2000 index RTYcv1 were down 1.3%.

Tech stocks were at the forefront of the selloff on Monday, with Nvidia NVDA.O down 4% in premarket trading. Microsoft MSFT.O fell 1.4% and Tesla TSLA.O slid 5%.

Brokerage Stifel lowered Tesla's deliveries forecast ahead of the announcement on Wednesday.

The CBOE Volatility index .VIX, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, touched a more than two-week high at 24.07 points.

As a result of tariff uncertainties, Goldman Sachs raised the probability of a U.S. recession to 35% from 20%, cut its year-end target for the S&P 500 and forecast more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The focus this week will also be on economic data including ISM business activity surveys and the crucial non-farm payrolls report. Also due this week are speeches from several U.S. central bank officials including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Drugmakers' shares slid after reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine official had been forced to resign.

Moderna MRNA.O slumped 10% and Pfizer PFE.N fell 1.2%.

Gene therapy-focused companies Taysha Gene Therapies TSHA.O and Solid Biosciences SLDB.O were down 12% and 6.5%, respectively, while U.S.-listed shares of CRISPR Therapeutics CRSP.O lost 4.6%.