Stocks end trading day on down note

U.S. stocks faded into the close to cap a second day of losses amid selling in industrial and financial shares. The dollar and Treasuries rallied as investors assessed the latest salvos in the trade war with China and sanctions that torpedoed the Russian ruble.

The S&P 500 Index turned lower in the final 15 minutes of trading that was more than 10 percent below the 30-day average. The Nasdaq indexes pared erased gains to end little changed. Tesla Inc. slumped under reports of regulatory scrutiny. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.92 percent after producer prices stagnated last month. The greenback climbed, while emergingmarket currencies weakened for a second day.

Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and other countries are setting the tone for markets, with China responding to the Trump administration’s latest trade war volley with additional tariffs of its own. The ruble hit a two-year low after the U.S. announced new sanctions on Russia over the March 4 nerve-agent attack on a former double agent in the U.K. Turkey’s lira plunged to a record and bond yields climbed as a dispute over the detention of an American pastor dragged on.

U.S. consumer prices probably rose in July from June, consistent with a pickup in inflation that’s projected to keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest-rate increases, economists forecast before Friday’s release.