Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of violating a tariff agreement, ramping up tensions in a trade war that has roiled global markets and businesses.
Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform did not specify how China had violated the agreement made in Geneva, Switzerland, and what action he would take against Beijing. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!,” he said.
In their Geneva talks, both sides had agreed the U.S. would drop levies on Chinese imports from 145% to 30% during a 90-day negotiation period and China would cut duties from 125% to 10%.
“We went from a place where it felt as though investors had a pretty good handle on the direction of trade and tariffs and now that picture has become very confusing,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Helping stem losses, data showed U.S. consumer spending increased marginally in April, with the year-on-year reading increasing to 2.1% after advancing 2.3% in March. The Fed tracks the PCE price measures for its 2% inflation target.
Traders continued to bet that the U.S. central bank will cut its target for short-term borrowing costs in September.
At 09:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.27 points, or 0.12%, to 42,166.46, the S&P 500 lost 27.12 points, or 0.46%, to 5,885.05 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 155.75 points, or 0.81%, to 19,020.13.
Most megacap and growth stocks fell, with Nvidia down 2.4%. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell, with energy and information technology declining the most.
Despite the losses, the Nasdaq is on pace for its best month since November 2023, while the benchmark S&P 500 is on track for its biggest monthly gain since November 2024. The Dow is also set to notch a near 3.5% advance for May.
It has been a volatile month for stocks as Trump’s on-and-off trade moves kept investors on edge, though his softening stance on tariffs had helped the S&P 500 rebound from its April lows. The benchmark is now about 4% lower than its all-time high hit in February.
Hopes of more deals between the U.S. and major trading partners, along with upbeat earnings and tame inflation data, had also driven the gains in equities.
U.S. equities had initially rallied in the previous session, after the Court of International Trade ruled late on Wednesday to effectively block most levies imposed since January, without addressing some industry-specific tariffs.
However, a federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily reinstated most of the tariffs and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9.
Among other big movers on the day, Ulta Beauty jumped 15% after the cosmetics retailer raised its annual profit forecast after beating quarterly results.
Shares of drugmaker Regeneron dropped more than 18% after its experimental drug for patients with a type of lung condition commonly called “smoker’s lung” failed a late-stage trial, although it succeeded in another.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.33-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.66-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 6 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 24 new highs and 40 new lows.
