WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday but still closed modestly lower. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back off Thursday's record closing highs.
The Dow slid 279.13 points or 0.6 percent to 44,371.51, the Nasdaq slipped 45.14 points or 0.2 percent to 20,585.53 and the S&P 500 fell 20.71 points or 0.3 percent to 6,259.75.
The weakness on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about President Donald Trump's escalating trade battles.
In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on Truth Social, Trump announced a 35 percent tariff on Canadian imports effective August 1st.
Trump said the tariffs were partly due to Canada's failure to stop fentanyl from 'pouring' into the U.S. and threatened to raise tariffs further if Canada retaliates.
'If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,' Trump said.
Trump also told NBC News' 'Meet the Press' moderator Kristen Welker he plans to impose blanket tariffs of 15 or 20 percent on most U.S. trade partners,
The president also indicated he soon plans to send letters to member of the European Union notifying them of new tariff rates.
Overall trading activity appeared somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may have kept some traders on the sidelines.
Traders were also looking ahead to the start of earnings season, with a number of big name companies due to report their quarterly results next week.
'The corporate reporting season begins in earnest next week with the big US banks. That will shift the focus to profits and outlook statements, giving valuable insight into how the business world is coping with a multitude of pressures,' said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
He added, 'Any corporate optimism is likely to prompt a tickertape parade on the markets as investors look for confirmation that tariff uncertainty hasn't caused widespread damage to earnings.'
Sector News
Airline stocks pulled back sharply after soaring in the previous session, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.7 percent. The index ended Thursday's trading at a four-month closing high.
Considerable weakness was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Networking, housing and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable weakness, while gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside along with the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries came under pressure after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 7.7 basis points 4.423 percent.
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