(Updates to afternoon US trading)

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Stocks fall ahead of Trump auto tariff announcement

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US durable goods orders rise 0.9%, beating expectations

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Dollar index strengthens, on pace for fifth gain in six

sessions

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - Global stocks dipped for

the first time in three sessions on Wednesday and the U.S.

dollar resumed its upward move as investors awaited the next

tariff announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will

hold a press conference at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) to announce

auto tariffs.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell, as the technology

sector weighed heavily. Each of the three major U.S.

indexes was on track to snap a three-session streak of gains.

Stocks have shown signs of bottoming in recent days after

coming under pressure due to uncertainty over the tariff outlook

and its potential to slow the global economy and dent corporate

profits. The major U.S. indexes are on track for their first

back-to-back monthly declines since the two-month period that

ended in October 2023.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 203.42 points,

or 0.48%, to 42,384.08, the S&P 500 lost 73.96 points, or

1.26%, to 5,702.85 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 395.73

points, or 2.17%, to 17,876.12.

The U.S. Commerce Department said orders for durable goods

increased 0.9% versus the estimate of economists polled by

Reuters for a 1% fall, as businesses rushed to place orders for

primary metals and fabricated metal products ahead of the

anticipated tariffs.

Trump said on Monday automobile tariffs were coming soon,

even as he indicated not all of his threatened levies would be

imposed on April 2 and some countries may get exemptions. He

also slapped 25% secondary tariffs on any country that buys oil

or gas from Venezuela.

"Markets hate the tariff uncertainty, especially when it

pertains to autos. Autos are ground zero for the negative

economic impacts of tariffs," said Jamie Cox, managing partner

at Harris Financial Group in Richmond Virginia

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies, rose 0.3% to 104.53, with the

euro down 0.32% at $1.0756. After dipping on Tuesday, the

greenback is on track for its fifth gain in six sessions.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell

8.65 points, or 1.01%, to 844.84, while the pan-European STOXX

600 index closed down 0.7% as the coming tariffs

spurred caution.

European stocks have outperformed their U.S. counterparts

this year, largely on hopes a German spending package could spur

growth and help counter the levies. The STOXX 600 was poised for

its biggest percentage gain since the fourth quarter of 2022.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened

0.33% to 150.41. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the

central bank must raise interest rates if persistent increases

in food costs lead to broad-based inflation.

New Bank of Japan board member Junko Koeda said the

country's real interest rates are currently "extremely low," as

inflation accelerates backed by solid growth in wages, but

declined to comment on how soon the central bank should raise

interest rates.

Sterling weakened 0.47% to $1.2882 after British

finance minister Rachel Reeves cut the government's plans for

spending increases to get back on track towards her fiscal

targets. Earlier data showed British inflation slowed more than

expected in February.

U.S. Treasury yields were higher, with the yield on

benchmark U.S. 10-year notes up 2.4 basis points to

4.333%, paring earlier declines following an auction of $70

billion in five-year notes.

U.S. crude rose 0.81% to $69.56 a barrel and Brent

climbed to $73.64 per barrel, up 0.85% on the day after

government data showed U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell

last week. Oil was also supported by mounting concerns about

tighter global supply following the U.S. threat of tariffs on

nations buying Venezuelan crude.