Stocks fell sharply today, resuming the selloff that enveloped the last few weeks after two days of gains. The Dow and Nasdaq both dropped triple-digits, while the S&P 500 finished firmly in the red as well. Meanwhile, Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), had its best day in over a week. 

This morning's economic data saw housing starts rise to an annual pace of 1.5 million in February, while building permits fell 1.2% to a 1.46 million rate. Investors are also eyeing the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that kicked off today, as well as Nvidia's (NVDA) GTC conference for artificial intelligence (AI) insight.

GOLD CONTINUES CLIMB, HITS FRESH RECORD

Oil prices gave up their earlier gains as investors monitored tensions in the Middle East. April-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 68 cents, or 1%, to settle at $66.90 a barrel. 

Tariff worries send gold futures to a fresh all-time highs today. For the session, the April-dated gold contract added about 1.3%, to settle at $3,043.40 per ounce.

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