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Indexes down: Dow 0.31%, S&P 500 0.25%, Nasdaq 0.24%

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JPMorgan ( JPM ) up after beating quarterly profit estimates

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Beijing increases tariffs on US imports to 125%

(Updates after markets open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

April 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes dipped

in choppy trading on Friday after China increased its tariffs on

U.S. imports, escalating a trade war that has hammered global

markets in recent weeks, while investors assessed results from

big Wall Street banks.

U.S. consumer sentiment also deteriorated sharply in April

and 12-month inflation expectations surged to the highest level

since 1981 amid unease over escalating trade tensions.

The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index

dropped to 50.8 this month from a final reading of 57.0 in

March. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index

falling to 54.5.

China retaliated after U.S. President Donald Trump on

Thursday doubled down on the country by increasing tariffs to an

effective rate of 145%, even as he announced a 90-day tariff

reprieve on most trading partners.

Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride in response to

tariff announcements in the past few days. Wall Street fell for

four straight sessions, before bouncing back on Wednesday with

the S&P 500 seeing its largest one-day percentage jump

since October 2008.

Stocks, however, slumped again on Thursday and were more

than 7% off from levels seen before last week, when Trump's

"reciprocal" tariffs sparked the market rout.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) gained 2.1% after beating

first-quarter profit estimates, while Wells Fargo ( WFC ) and

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) slipped after reporting quarterly results.

Executives at the banks warned that sweeping tariffs could

fuel risks and weigh on economic growth.

At 10:34 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 121.88 points, or 0.31%, to 39,471.78, the S&P 500

lost 13.35 points, or 0.25%, to 5,254.70, and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 38.74 points, or 0.24%, to 16,348.58.

Megacap and growth stocks were mixed, with Meta Platforms ( META )

down 1.8% and Nvidia ( NVDA ) gaining 1.7%.

"A lot of de-risking has happened in the (tech) space and

investors don't want to take too much risk of being too

underweight in those areas," said Thomas Martin, senior

portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.

The CBOE Volatility index, seen as Wall Street's fear

gauge, was last up 4.62 points to 45.34.

Still, all three major Wall Street indexes are set for

robust weekly gains, with the Nasdaq set for its best weekly

showing so far this year.

Investors sought refuge in traditional safe-haven assets

such as gold, which jumped to a record high. Safe-haven

currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc

also strengthened against the dollar.

The rally in the precious metal lifted gold miners, with

Newmont ( NEM ) and U.S.-listed shares of Barrick Gold ( GOLD )

rising more than 6% each.

U.S. monthly producer prices unexpectedly fell in March,

coming on the heels of a consumer prices reading which also

showed an unexpected decline last month.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.03-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and a 1.62-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week high and five new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded nine new highs and 83 new

lows.