Wall Street stocks edge lower as investors look for US tariff clarity

THE S&P 500 ended Tuesday’s choppy session slightly lower as investors waited for clarity on US trade policy after President Donald J. Trump’s latest tariff threats dampened hopes around talks with some trade partners.

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Wall Street equities had sold off sharply on Monday after Mr. Trump warned of sweeping new tariffs on goods from key trading partners such as Japan and South Korea and a range of smaller countries starting in August.

Tuesday's moves in US indexes were less pronounced than in the previous session but the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq spent the session flitting between red and green as investors sought direction from tariff headlines.

Mr. Trump appeared to broaden his global trade war with the announcement on Tuesday that he would put a 50% tariff on imported copper while he said that long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals were coming soon.

The US president said trade talks have been going well with the European Union (EU) and China but added that he was only days away from sending a tariff letter to the EU.

“It’s almost like markets are waiting to exhale,” while investors wait for more tariff news, said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth in Minneapolis, Minnesota.