Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday and the S&P 500 confirmed it is in a correction after cool inflation data was overshadowed by fears that the escalating, hydra-headed tariff war being waged by the United States against its biggest trading partner could reignite inflation and tip the economy into recession.

The S&P 500 is on the cusp of closing in a correction, or a 10% drop from its February high. Constantly moving goal posts on tariffs and trade have rattled investors.

A 10% drop is a big enough deal that professional investors have a name for it — a “correction” — and the S&P 500’s 1.4% slide on Thursday sent the index to its first si