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Indexes down: Dow 0.12%, S&P 500 0.46%, Nasdaq 0.81%

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Regeneron slides on mixed trial data on smoker's lung drug

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Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) gains after raising annual profit forecast

(Updates after markets open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Kanchana Chakravarty

May 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes fell on

Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of violating

a tariff agreement, ramping up tensions in a trade war that has

roiled global markets and businesses.

Trump's

post on his Truth Social platform did not specify how China

had violated the agreement made in Geneva, Switzerland, and what

action he would take against Beijing. "So much for being Mr.

NICE GUY!," he said.

In their Geneva talks, both sides had agreed the U.S.

would drop levies on Chinese imports from 145% to 30% during a

90-day negotiation period and China would cut duties from 125%

to 10%.

"We went from a place where it felt as though investors had

a pretty good handle on the direction of trade and tariffs and

now that picture has become very confusing," said Art Hogan,

chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.

Helping stem losses, data showed U.S. consumer spending

increased marginally in April, with the year-on-year reading

increasing to 2.1% after advancing 2.3% in March. The Fed tracks

the PCE price measures for its 2% inflation target.

Traders continued to bet that the U.S. central bank will cut

its target for short-term borrowing costs in September.

At 09:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 49.27 points, or 0.12%, to 42,166.46, the S&P 500

lost 27.12 points, or 0.46%, to 5,885.05 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 155.75 points, or 0.81%, to 19,020.13.

Most megacap and growth stocks fell, with Nvidia ( NVDA )

down 2.4%.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell, with energy

and information technology declining the most.

Despite the losses, the Nasdaq is on pace for its

best month since November 2023, while the benchmark S&P 500

is on track for its biggest monthly gain since November

2024. The Dow is also set to notch a near 3.5% advance

for May.

It has been a volatile month for stocks as Trump's

on-and-off trade moves kept investors on edge, though his

softening stance on tariffs had helped the S&P 500 rebound from

its April lows. The benchmark is now about 4% lower than its

all-time high hit in February.

Hopes of more deals between the U.S. and major trading

partners, along with upbeat earnings and tame inflation data,

had also driven the gains in equities.

U.S. equities had initially rallied in the previous session,

after the Court of International Trade ruled late on Wednesday

to effectively block most levies imposed since January, without

addressing some industry-specific tariffs.

However, a federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily

reinstated most of the tariffs and ordered the plaintiffs in the

cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9.

Among other big movers on the day, Ulta Beauty ( ULTA )

jumped 15% after the cosmetics retailer raised its annual profit

forecast after beating quarterly results.

Shares of drugmaker Regeneron dropped more than 18%

after its experimental drug for patients with a type of lung

condition commonly called "smoker's lung" failed a late-stage

trial, although it succeeded in another.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.33-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.66-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 6 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 24 new highs and 40 new lows.