Retailers lead declines in stocks

U.S. stocks ended an up-and-down session mostly lower as Amazon.com’s wage increase pressured retailers and small caps slumped to a two-month low as trade tensions eased. The dollar, Treasuries and commodities advanced.

The S&P 500 Index edged lower. Retailers led declines after Amazon raised the minimum wage for all its employees. Small caps remained under pressure after the new Nafta deal, while Boeing Co. and Caterpillar Inc. led the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a fresh record. Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell shrugging off inflation worries added to pressure on equities.

Amazon’s wage move raised the specter that competitors will have to make a similar move, threatening profit margins at a time when input costs have also been on the rise. Otherwise, trade largely set the tone, with multinationals continuing to benefit from a reduction in tension and domestically focused companies under pressure. Meanwhile, political drama in Washington still swirls around President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

European shares slid as concern mounted that Italy’s budget could lead to a debt crisis. The region’s common currency touched the lowest in six weeks. Emerging-market equities tumbled amid weak data and as Mohamed El-Erian warned against rushing into the group.

Elsewhere, the dollar climbed against almost all its major peers. Indonesia’s rupiah fell past 15,000 per dollar for the first time since 1998 a day after inflation came in slower than forecast. The pound slumped as Brexit and the annual conference of the governing Conservative Party continued to dominate headlines.