U.S., China escalate talk about new tariffs

NEW YORK » Stocks ended the week the way they began it: tumbling as investors worry that tariffs and harsh words between the U.S. and China will touch off a trade war that derails the global economy. The latest drop came as the White House proposed tripling the amount of goods from China that will be subject to tariffs.

The stock market changed direction again and again this week as investors tried to get a sense of whether the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies will escalate. On Friday technology companies, banks, industrial and health care stocks sank. The market didn’t get any help from a March jobs report that was weaker than expected.

With administration officials sounding conciliatory one day and hostile the next and the president quick to fire off yet another tweet, investors simply don’t know what the U.S. wants to achieve in its talks with China, said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management.

“The process itself seems to be quite chaotic,” she said. “We’re not quite sure what the long-term strategy is.”

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 572.46 points, or 2.3 percent, to 23,932.76. It’s down 10 percent from its record high in late January.

The S&P 500, which many index funds track, lost 58.37 points, or 2.2 percent, to 2,604.47. The Nasdaq composite slid 161.44 points, or 2.3 percent, to 6,915.11. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 29.63 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,513.30.

President Donald Trump’s administration spent the past few days reassuring investors that it’s not rushing into a trade war, and China’s government has done the same. But late Thursday, Trump ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to consider tariffs on another $100 billion in Chinese imports. China said it would “counterattack with great strength” if that happens.