BUSINESS/CANADA/COMMERCE/EU/MEXICO/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid more than 200 points Thursday [5-31-18] as investors broadly recoiled from the stock market after the Trump administration made good on its plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Of the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials, 28 traded lower, while all major sectors of the S&P 500 fell, with the exception of shares of technology companies. Losses accelerated after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said steel and aluminum products from Canada, Mexico and the European union would be subject to tariffs beginning Friday [6-1-18]. The blue-chip index fell 214 points, or 0.9%, to 24454 in recent trading. The S&P 500, which was also weighed down by weak earnings from discount retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree, shed 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite rose less than 0.1%, as shares of tech companies fared better than peers. The stock market has been particularly sensitive to the imposition of trade tariffs. Investors fear a tax on steel and aluminum imports would crimp corporate profits among companies that use those raw materials and expect that higher costs will eventually be passed on to consumers.”
-Mike Bird and Michael Wursthorn, “Dow Industrials Reel After Trump Administration Imposes Tariffs,” The Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2018 10:57 am