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Advanced Micro Devices down after brokerage downgrade

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Weekly jobless claims at 224,000

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S&P 500 -0.33%, Nasdaq -0.53%, Dow -0.37%

By Noel Randewich

March 27 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended lower on

Thursday, as investors grappled with U.S. President Donald

Trump's latest trade tariff announcement that hit shares of

General Motors ( GM ) and Ford.

Trump unveiled on Wednesday his plan to implement a 25% tariff

on imported cars and light trucks effective on April 3, while

the duty on auto parts begins on May 3. Investors are also

bracing for a wave of reciprocal tariffs Trump plans to unveil

on Wednesday, although the president has hinted there may be

room for flexibility.

In a volatile session on Wall Street, General Motors ( GM )

tumbled over 7% and Ford slid 3.9%. Car parts

manufacturers Aptiv and BorgWarner ( BWA ) each lost

around 5%.

Tesla edged up 0.4%, with investors betting the

electric vehicle maker will be hurt less by tariffs because of

its largely domestic production.

Apple ( AAPL ) added 1.05%, helping limit the S&P 500's loss.

Trump's mercurial trade policies have created uncertainty on

Wall Street, as investors fret over potential disruptions to

supply chains, hampered investment, and the specter of inflation

threatening global economic growth.

"Investors are really cautious and wary of Trump and his

policies. Even more than the policies, just the constant

flip-flopping," said Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at

Argent Capital in St. Louis, Missouri. "That makes people really

nervous to make long-term investment decisions, whether we're

talking about companies or about investors."

The S&P 500 declined 0.33% to end the session at 5,693.31

points.

The Nasdaq dropped 0.53% to 17,804.03 points, while the Dow

Jones Industrial Average declined 0.37% to 42,299.70 points.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, eight declined, led lower by

energy, down 0.85%, followed by a 0.84% loss in

communication services.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment

benefits slipped last week, while the jobless rate appeared to

have held steady in March.

Also on Thursday, the headline figure for fourth-quarter

gross domestic product growth was revised to 2.4%, higher than

the consensus estimate of 2.3% in a Reuters poll.

Shares of Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) jumped 11% as several analysts

raised their price targets after the discount retailer on

Wednesday said it sold its struggling Family Dollar business for

about $1 billion.

Investors on Friday will focus on the February personal

consumption expenditures price index - the Federal Reserve's

favored inflation gauge.

Traders have trimmed their exposure to U.S. equities, with

the S&P 500 down about 7% from its record high close on February

19. The Nasdaq is down almost 12% from its record high close on

December 16.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both on course to conclude the first

quarter of 2025 in negative territory. So far in 2025, the S&P

500 has lost about 3% and the Nasdaq is down almost 8%.

Fed policymakers Susan Collins and Thomas Barkin are

expected to share their economic insights later on Thursday.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500

by a 1.3-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new highs and seven new lows. The Nasdaq

recorded 34 new highs and 195 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 14.7 billion

shares traded, compared to an average of 16.3 billion shares

over the previous 20 sessions.