Stocks Fall After Latest Trump Threats

US stocks fell Friday after President Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union that could begin in a little more than a week.

• The Dow dropped 256.02 points, or 0.6%, to 41,603.07, off 2.5% for the week.
• The S&P 500 declined 39.19 points, or 0.7%, to 5,802.82, finishing the week down 2.6%.
• The Nasdaq fell 188.53 points, or 1%, to 18,737.21, down 2.5% for the week.

Trump threatened the tariffs before the US stock market opened, saying on his Truth Social platform that trade talks with the EU "were going nowhere" and that "straight 50%" tariffs could go into effect on June 1.

Stocks fell immediately in Europe, the AP reports. The US market also took a quick turn lower, and futures for US stock indexes tumbled after earlier suggesting only modest moves at the open of trading. The S&P 500 lost as much as 1.3% shortly after trading began, but it pared its loss as traders weighed whether Trump's latest threats were just negotiating tactics aimed in hopes of getting a deal or something more. Apple dropped 3% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after Trump went after the company specifically. He said he's been pushing Apple to move production of iPhones to the US, and he warned a tariff "of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US" if it doesn't.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing how more than half the goods it sells originate in China, making profits vulnerable to the raised tariffs. The off-price retailer gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that included a hit taken from tariffs, and it fell short of analysts' expectations. That dragged its stock down even though the company also reported a better profit for the latest quarter than expected. On the winning side was Intuit, which rose 8.8% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected thanks in part to a strong tax season. Perhaps more important, Intuit raised its forecasts for revenue and profit over its full fiscal year. (More Wall Street stories.)