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Indexes off: Dow 0.89%, S&P 500 0.98%, Nasdaq 1.44%
Dollar General forecasts downbeat FY comparable sales
growth
Intel gains after naming chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan
CEO
Adobe falls after dull quarterly revenue forecast
US producer prices unchanged in February
(Updates to mid-session trading)
By Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap
U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday following President
Donald Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on imports
from the European Union, although data showing cooling inflation
offered some respite.
In his latest trade salvo, Trump said he would levy
on European beverage imports unless the EU removes
surcharges on U.S. whiskey. He had previously threatened to
penalize the bloc if it imposed retaliatory tariffs on American
goods next month.
U.S. beverage makers were mixed. Brown-Forman
added 2%, while Molson Coors lost 0.9% and Constellation
Brands dropped 0.7%.
Speaking on the market impact of tariffs, Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that he was not
concerned about Wall Street’s recent volatility and that an
economic “detox” does not have to be a recession.
Markets were roiled earlier this week by Trump’s
unpredictable trade restrictions, stoking concerns that an
escalating trade conflict on multiple fronts could spur domestic
inflation and potentially hinder growth.
“Bessent’s comments are basically telling you… there
is a plan and it’s not as haphazard as it seems. But the market
doesn’t know what the exact policy is going to be,” said Thomas
Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC.
The trade restrictions have unsettled investors, leading
brokerages to lower their projections for U.S. equities, while
several companies have issued cautious forecasts.
Dollar General forecast annual comparable sales
growth
. However, its shares gained 5.1% on its upbeat quarterly
results.
A majority of the S&P 500 sub-sectors were in the red,
led by a 2.7% drop in consumer discretionary as Tesla
slid 5.6%.
At 11:43 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 370.69 points, or 0.89%, to 40,980.24, the S&P 500
lost 54.89 points, or 0.98%, to 5,544.41 and the Nasdaq
Composite lost 253.93 points, or 1.44%, to 17,394.52.
The domestically focused Russell 2000 index lost
1.2%.
The S&P 500 was on course to confirm a correction, dropping
about 10% from its recent record high and on the brink of its
longest weekly losing streak in seven months.
Offering investors some hope on the economy’s resilience,
data showed producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in
February. A separate weekly report pointed to
fewer-than-expected jobless claims.
However, worries that the trend could be short-lived
prevailed, with traders expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to
lower borrowing costs by nearly 75 basis points in the second
half of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Markets were also on edge as the deadline to pass a
in the U.S. Senate approached. If it goes through, the bill
will keep the U.S. government operational through September 30.
Among other stocks, Intel jumped 14.8% after the
beleaguered chipmaker appointed industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan its
chief executive officer.
Adobe dropped 12.9% after the Photoshop-maker
forecast quarterly revenue in line with estimates.
Shares of truck- and parts-makers such as Paccar
and Cummins fell 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively, after the
Environmental Protection Agency launched efforts to undo the
previous administration’s vehicle-emissions rules.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.26-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE, and by a 2.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 19 new lows,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 11 new highs and 183 new
lows.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru;
Editing by Pooja Desai)
