Stocks New York close: Trump unsettles with tariff announcement

NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) - The announcement of import tariffs by US President Donald Trump has once again unsettled investors on Wednesday. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial , which had initially gained, turned negative and fell by 0.43 percent to 43,433.12 points at the end of trading. Investors avoided risks and instead bought US government bonds, which are considered safe. The price of ten-year bonds reached its highest level since mid-December.

Trump has promised tariffs of 25 percent on imports from the European Union. "We've made a decision. We'll announce it very soon," Trump said during a cabinet meeting. He then added: "It's going to be 25 percent, generally speaking, on cars and everything else."

The broad market S&P 500 closed 0.01 percent higher at 5,956.06 points. It had fallen below the 6,000 point mark on Monday. The recently weak NASDAQ 100 closed 0.22 percent higher at 21,132.92 points./bek/he