Stocks fall as U.S. imposes tariffs

U.S. stocks skidded Thursday after the Trump administration said it was imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Europe, Canada and Mexico. Canada and Mexico responded with tariffs of their own. The European Union is expected to follow suit.

Shares of American steel makers mostly rose, while industrial companies fell as they face the prospect of paying more for metals they use to make aircraft and machinery. Companies that make household items took some of the worst losses, as products such as orange juice and peanut butter are considered likely targets of European tariffs.

Contentious trade talks between the United States and China are continuing as well. All those disputes have been weighing on the market for months. David Kelly, chief global strategist of JPMorgan Funds, said the dragged-out process is discouraging businesses from investing because they don’t want to build a product only to see it burdened by tariffs.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 18.74 points, or 0.7%, to 2,705.27. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 251.94 points, or 1%, to 24,415.84. The Nasdaq composite slipped 20.34 points, or 0.3%, to 7,442.12 as tech companies such as Alphabet and Facebook bucked the market’s decline. The Russell 2000 index, which is made up of smaller companies that tend to do more business in the U.S., fell 14.32 points, or 0.9%, to 1,633.67.

U.S. Steel climbed 1.7% to

$36.87, and Century Aluminum jumped 3.4% to $17.72.

Boeing fell 1.7% to $352.16. Caterpillar fell 2.3% to $151.91. Farm equipment maker Deere slid 3.6% to $149.51. Dean Foods slid 4.3% to $9.57. Tyson Foods fell 3.9% to $67.47.

European officials have threatened to retaliate against U.S. products including orange juice, peanut butter, clothing, motorcycles and bourbon. HarleyDavidson fell 2.2% to $41.08. Hormel fell 3.4% to $35.89.

General Motors jumped 12.9% to $42.70 after saying SoftBank is taking a 20% stake in the GM Cruise automated division.

Discount retailers Dollar Tree and Dollar General stumbled after they said inclement weather hurt their business last quarter. Their results fell short of projections, and Dollar Tree cut its profit forecast for the year. Dollar Tree shares tumbled 14.3% to $82.59. Dollar General slumped 9.4% to $87.48.

Deutsche Bank fell 4.2% to $11.08 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Reserve determined that the bank’s U.S. business is in “troubled condition.”

Guess plunged 19.4% after the clothing company issued quarterly results that disappointed investors.

U.S. crude oil slid 1.7% to $67.04 a barrel. Brent crude edged up 0.1% to $77.59 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 1.1% to $2.16 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1.8% to $2.19 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2.3% to $2.95 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices edged up. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.83% from 2.85%, and financial firms’ stocks fell.