Trade worries send Dow to 8th straight decline

Carmakers and technology and industrial companies fell Thursday as investors focused on the U.S.China trade dispute, which could reduce company spending and earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped for the eighth day in a row.

Although investors generally don’t expect a trade war between the U.S. and China, they remain sensitive to signs that rising tariffs and trade tensions will hurt the global economy and reduce corporate profits. This week they’ve received some signs that this is happening.

Kate Moore, global equity strategist for BlackRock, said that investors have been hoping that the Republican-backed corporate tax cut would encourage companies to hire more workers, boost pay and expand operations, but that the uncertainty over tariffs is discouraging them from doing that.

“There’s a fear that rising uncertainty around trade and tariffs is going to significantly affect investment decisions and hiring decisions, and potentially take some steam off of what has looked like a very strong expansion,” she said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the Fed has heard about businesses holding off on hiring and spending in response to the trade conflicts.

Then Thursday, Daimler projected fewer sport utility vehicle sales and higher costs for its Mercedes-Benz cars as a result of Chinese tariffs on cars made in the U.S. .

The S&P 500 index slid 17.56 points, or 0.6%, to 2,749.76. The Dow fell 196.10 points, or 0.8%, to 24,461.70. The index has fallen 3.4% over the last eight days.

The Nasdaq composite lost 68.56 points, or 0.9%, to 7,712.95. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks declined 18.04 points, or 1.1%, to 1,688.95. The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 both closed at record highs Wednesday.

Online retailers skidded and rivals such as department stores rose after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can force more online shoppers to pay sales tax.

Overstock.com lost 7.2% to $36.15 and home goods site Wayfair gave up 1.6% to $114.28 while Amazon.com lost 1.1% to $1,730.22. Target gained 1% to $76.14, and Nordstrom added 1.8% to $52.78.

Energy companies declined ahead of a meeting Friday where OPEC countries and other nations are expected to increase oil production, which reduces oil prices. Chevron fell 2.2% to $122.59, and Marathon Oil dropped 5.4% to $19.92.

U.S. crude oil dripped 0.3% to $65.54 a barrel, and Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, lost 2.3% to $73.05 a barrel.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.90% from 2.94%. That helped stocks that pay big dividends, including utilities and real estate investment trusts.

Wholesale gasoline lost 0.6% to $2.01 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1.8% to $2.07 a gallon. Natural gas rose 0.4% to $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold shed 0.3% to $1,270.50 an ounce. Silver edged up 0.1% to $16.33 an ounce. Copper slid 0.6% to $3.02 a pound.

The dollar fell to 109.90 yen from 110.40 yen. The euro rose to $1.1617 from $1.1587.

The German DAX dropped 1.4%. France’s CAC 40 lost 1%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.9% .

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished up 0.6%, and the Kospi in South Korea dropped 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4%.