NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street edged lower Thursday after getting pulled in opposite directions as President Donald Trump’s latest tariff escalation creates winners and losers among auto stocks.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% after drifting between small gains and losses several times through the day. Better-than-expected data on the economy also helped support the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 155 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.
General Motors sank 7.4% for one of the market’s sharper losses after Trump announced 25% tariffs on imported cars. Ford Motor dropped 3.9%.
Even U.S. automakers selling vehicles in the country can feel the pain of such tariffs because their supply chains are spread throughout North America. Trump says he wants more manufacturing to take place within the United States.
“There are still a lot of unknowns, but if this remains in place, there will clearly be some pain for the companies to digest,” according to UBS analyst Joseph Spak.
Among the uncertainties are how the U.S. government will determine how to apply tariffs to parts that are compliant with the free-trade agreement that the United States and Mexico and Canada have, but are not made entirely within the United States. Tracking parts could be difficult, according to Spak.
Automakers based outside the United States also sank. In Seoul, Hyundai Motor dropped 4.3%. In Tokyo, Honda Motor fell 2.5%, and Toyota Motor lost 2%.
But U.S. electric-vehicle makers Rivian and Tesla held up much better. They look to face less pressure from Trump’s tariffs because more of their production happens in the United States.
Rivian rallied 7.6%, and Elon Musk’s Tesla added 0.4% after paring an earlier, bigger gain.
Companies that could benefit from drivers opting against buying new cars also revved higher. Among auto parts retailers, AutoZone gained 4%, and O’Reilly Automotive climbed 3.1%. CarMax, which sells used autos, rose 2.5%.
Expectations are high for stock markets worldwide to remain shaky as an April 2 deadline approaches for tariffs. That’s what Trump has called “Liberation Day,” when he will roll out tariffs tailored to the United States’ trading partners. In each case, he said the “reciprocal” tariff will match the burden the other country places on the United States, including things like value-added taxes.
Hopes are still high that Trump may ultimately opt for more targeted or milder tariffs that are less painful for the global economy than feared. But even if he does, all the talk about tariffs has already made U.S. consumers and businesses feel more cautious and pessimistic. If such sour moods convince them to pull back on their spending, it could hurt the economy.
