NEW YORK, April 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks stumbled Monday as renewed attacks by U.S. President Donald Trump on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to concerns about the central bank's independence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 971.82 points, or 2.48 percent, to 38,170.41. The S&P 500 sank 124.50 points, or 2.36 percent, to 5,158.2. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 415.55 points, or 2.55 percent, to 15,870.9.

All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer discretionary and technology leading the laggards by going down 2.86 percent and 2.72 percent, respectively. Consumer staples posted the weakest decline, down 1.34 percent.

The tech-heavy "Magnificent Seven" bore the brunt of the sell-off. Tesla plunged 5.75 percent, while Nvidia dropped 4.51 percent. Amazon, AMD, and Meta Platforms each shed around 3 percent, and Caterpillar slid 2.77 percent amid broader weakness in industrials.

The pullback came after Trump Monday posted on Truth Social, calling Powell "Mr. Too Late, a major loser" and urging the Fed to cut interest rates immediately, warning of a looming economic slowdown. He also hinted again at the idea of Powell's "termination" - a notion White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett recently said was under review by Trump's team.

"One of the things that is becoming very clear is the underlying tension between the Fed and the administration," said Michael Green, chief strategist of Simplify Asset Management. "We are effectively in a replay of COVID. The uncertainty has meaningfully disrupted trade ... I think most people anticipate that there will be some form of stimulus that ultimately emerges to offset the effects of the tariff."

Market participants were also discouraged by stalled trade talks, leaving investors with few catalysts to reverse last week's volatility. "If uncertainty continues for an extended period of time - meaning multiple quarters - I think that becomes more challenging for corporate earnings and decision making, and we've seen some of that in the earnings season so far," said Robert Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank.

Looking ahead, earnings season enters a critical stretch, with over 120 S&P 500 companies set to report this week. Among them, Tesla and Alphabet, two key members of the "Magnificent Seven," are in the spotlight as investors search for signs of resilience in big tech companies. Enditem