Investing.com - U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday, as investors gauged President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and the release of fresh producer price data.
By 11:28 ET (15:28 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 had dropped by 49 points or 0.9%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 had fallen by 237 points or 1.3%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 317 points or 0.8%.
Markets were keeping close tabs on a monthly measure of producer price growth, which could help flesh out the state of U.S. inflation.
U.S. producer prices rose at a slower-than-anticipated annualized rate in February, while the measure was unexpectedly unchanged month-on-month, according to data that will likely factor in to how the Federal Reserve views inflation during a time of increased uncertainty around Donald Trump’s trade policy.
The report is set to come after a separate metric on Wednesday showed that consumer prices increased at a slower-than-anticipated pace last month, possibly presenting an upbeat piece of news for Trump as he pushes ahead with his plans to overhaul the U.S. trading relationship with friends and adversaries alike. Hopes that the Fed will slash interest rates later this year were also buoyed.
Meanwhile, Trump threatened to place 200% tariffs on alcohol imports from the European Union in response to the bloc rolling out retaliatory countermeasures against his steel and aluminum levies.
The next twist in the ongoing tariff saga could come on Thursday, when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer are expected to meet with Doug Ford, the Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario.
Ford has said that the three will discuss a renewal to the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which was signed during Trump’s first term in office.
The gathering will come after the U.S. allowed expanded and sweeping 25% levies on steel and aluminum to come into effect on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Ford became the target of Trump’s ire after he said he would place a 25% surcharge on electricity exported from Ontario to the U.S. However, following discussions with Lutnick and a threat from Trump to double the Canadian steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, Ford temporarily suspended the trade tax.
In individual stocks, shares in Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) rose by more than 14% after the chipmaker announced the appointment of Lip-Bu Tan as its next Chief Executive.
He succeeds interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, with Zinsner staying on as CFO and Holthaus continuing as CEO of Intel Products. The appointment, which will take effect March 18, comes three months after the departure of former CEO Pat Gelsinger, who had overseen a costly -- but ultimately faltering -- drive to turn around the business.
(Ayushman Ojha contributed reporting.)