Financial Markets                      03/27 09:33

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is getting pulled in different directions on 
Thursday as President Donald Trump's latest tariff escalation pushes some 
automakers downward, while encouraging data on the economy helps support the 
market.

   The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading after erasing an 
earlier loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 33 points, or 0.1%, as 
of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

   General Motors helped lead the way lower with a drop of 5.9% after Trump 
announced 25% tariffs on imported cars. Ford Motor sank 2.1%.

   Even U.S. automakers can feel the pain of such tariffs because their supply 
chains are spread throughout North America. Trump, in turn, says he wants 
production of autos 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 in the United 
States. Tracking such parts could be difficult, Spak said.

   Automakers based outside the United States also sank. In Tokyo, Honda Motor 
fell 2.5%, and Toyota Motor lost 2%. In Seoul, Hyundai Motor dropped 4.3%.

   Electric-vehicle makers Tesla and Rivian held up better, though. They look 
to face less pressure from Trump's tariffs because more of their production 
happens in the United States, and Elon Musk's Tesla rose 2.7%, while Rivian 
gained 3.1%.

   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 less 
intense 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.

   So far, the economy has seemed to be holding up.

   One report on Thursday said slightly fewer workers applied for unemployment 
benefits last week than economists expected. It's the latest hopeful sign for a 
job market that may be settling into a "low hire, low fire" state.

   A second report said the U.S. economy's growth during the final three months 
of last year was slightly stronger than earlier estimated.

   The better-than-expected data helped Treasury yields in the bond market 
remain relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.36% 
from 4.35% late Wednesday.

   On Wall Street, Petco Health & Wellness jumped 33.4% after the retailer 
reported slightly stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts 
expected.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe after finishing 
mixed in Asia.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% following the losses for many of its 
automakers, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday, "We 
strongly request that tariff measures not be applied to Japan."

   In China, stocks rose 0.1% in Shanghai and 0.4% in Hong Kong.

   Chinese automakers and parts manufacturers have been expanding sales around 
the world, but not in the United States, so any impact from the tariffs 
announcement would be an indirect one.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott and AP Videographer Ayaka 
McGill contributed.

   ---------

   itemid:df6909dce420a676fa8e74d161451ad3