Stocks slide as trade tension worries grow

U.S. stocks sank again Wednesday as investors worried about tariffs and rising trade tensions. That hurt industrial companies, while banks slumped along with interest rates.

Stocks rose in the morning as investors looked for a rebound from the previous day’s losses, but with European leaders warning about the risks of trade disputes, indexes gradually headed down. Boeing and other industrial companies took some of the worst losses.

Stocks have bounced around since President Trump announced at the start of this month his plans to impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. They slumped at first, then came back after the administration said it would grant exemptions to some countries. Stocks have slipped over the last two days as investors considered the possibility of greater trade tensions with Europe and China.

Bank stocks fell along with bond yields. Household goods companies also fell, and retailers lost ground after the Commerce Department said retail sales declined in February.

Aerospace and defense giant Boeing slid 2.5% to $330.26. Arconic, which uses a lot of aluminum in making products for aerospace companies, fell 3.6% to $24.06. Defense contractors including Raytheon also declined, as did airlines.

Bond prices climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.82% from 2.84%. Citigroup shares fell 1.9% to $73.47. Bank of New York Mellon shares fell 2% to $54.87.

Retail sales slipped 0.1% last month as car sales declined, and so did purchases at gas stations and department stores, the Commerce Department said. Kohl’s shares slid 2.9% to $62.25, and discount retailer Dollar Tree fell 1.7% to $92.81.

Signet Jewelers plunged 20.2% to $38.22 after the jewelry retailer gave profit and sales forecasts that were weaker than expected.

Tesla declined 4.5% to $326.63 after Bloomberg News reported that a second senior finance executive had resigned. Bloomberg said Treasurer Susan Repo left to become chief financial officer at another company. A week ago, the electric car maker said its chief accounting officer had left. Separately, CNBC reported that Tesla is having problems manufacturing some parts for its Model 3 sedan.

Twitter jumped 7.3% to $36.60, its highest price since 2015.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 25 cents to $60.96 a barrel. Brent crude rose 25 cents to $64.89 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 4 cents to $1.92 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.89 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to $2.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $1.50 to $1,325.60 an ounce. Silver fell 9 cents to $16.54 an ounce. Copper rose 2 cents to $3.16 a pound.

The dollar fell to 106.25 yen from 106.61 yen. The euro fell to $1.2375 from $1.2397.