US stocks seesaw in volatile session amid global trade war

(NEW YORK) –U.S. stocks seesawed on Wednesday, swinging between gains and losses amid fears of a global trade war as China and the European Union slapped retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 60 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.6%,

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.2%.

Meanwhile, a selloff hit U.S. Treasury markets on Wednesday, sending bond yields higher and raising concern about a typical safe-haven asset during moments of instability for stocks.

President Donald Trump’s latest batch of levies on China increased the cumulative rate of tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% — a move met with retaliatory tariffs in Beijing that raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%.

European Union countries on Wednesday backed the European Commission’s proposal to push back on Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum with a set of countermeasures.

The latest U.S. tariffs came into force with key Asian markets already open. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped more than 5% in response, while the broader TOPIX index slipped 4.6%. The Nikkei closed down 3.93% and the TOPIX down 3.4%.

Stocks in Taiwan fell more than 5.7%, Singapore’s STI index slipped 2.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI index lost 1.8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8% and India’s NIFTY 50 dropped 0.4%.

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Sen index slipped 0.4%. Shanghai’s SSE Shanghai Composite Index — which has fewer international investors and is buoyed by the state-owned investors known as the “National Team” — posted gains of 1.1% despite the new tariffs. Shenzhen’s SE Composite rose 2.2%.

In Europe, key indices dropped on opening.

The British FTSE 100 dropped by 2.2%, Germany’s Dax index dropped 2.3%, France’s CAC 40 fell by 2.4% and Spain’s Ibex index was down 2%. The pan-European STOXX index was down 2.6%. 

United States stocks closed lower on Tuesday, marking a major reversal from a rally that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 4% earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 320 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, putting the index on the brink of a bear market, a term that indicates a 20% drop from a previous peak.

The move lower on Tuesday resumed a selloff that stretches back to Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Since then, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each fallen more than 12%.