* Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 422 points on tariffsnews
* Interest rate worries keeps investors nervous
* U.S. yield curve steepens after Fed chief comments
* Oil slides on worries about crude supply, U.S. dollar
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Wall Streetwhile the U.S. dollar fell on Thursday after President DonaldTrump said the United States would impose tariffs on steel andaluminum imports, sparking fears of a harmful global trade war.
U.S. steelmaker stock prices jumped on the news after Trumpvowed to rebuild American steel and aluminum industries at ameeting of U.S. industry officials at the White House. many stocks fell on concerns industry inputs would be asthe cost of imported steel and aluminum rose, pushing up costsfor consumers also.
"There's always a concern with this president that you getinto a series of trade wars that would hurt domestic or globalgrowth," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist atFederated Investors in New York.
"It remains to be seen whether not there's a response fromthe foreign government. That's unknown and the market hatesuncertainty," Orlando said.
Canada said it would retaliate if the United States imposestariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Foreign AffairsMinister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. main stock index fell to a more than two-week lowon Thursday, partly on fears about the impact of moreprotectionist trade policies. L2N1QJ2EJ
Chuck Carlson, chief executive at Horizon InvestmentServices in Hammond, Indiana said the market is nervous aboutfuture U.S. inflation and the imposition of tariffs mayaccentuate those concerns.
"You put a tax on something you are increasing the price,which is inflationary and then what is that going to do with thegoods and products that we sell too?" he said.
The three major U.S. stock indices fell more than 1.0percent as Trump's tariff announcement added to investorsconcerns about the pace of Federal Reserve interest rates risesas inflation edges higher.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday theU.S. economy does not appear to be overheating, though the headof the New York Fed suggested a faster pace of interest rateincreases may still be in the offing for 2018. Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI closed down 420.22 points, or 1.68 percent, to 24,608.98. TheS&P 500 .SPX lost 36.16 points, or 1.33 percent, to 2,677.67and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 92.45 points, or 1.27percent, to 7,180.56.
Steelmakers AK Steel Holding AKS.N rose 9.5 percent, U.S.Steel Corp X.N gained 5.8 percent and Nucor (NYSE:NUE) NUE.N rose 3.26percent.
Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) F.N dropped 3.0 percent and GeneralMotors GM.N fell nearly 4.0 percent. Boeing (NYSE:BA), Johnson Controlsand United Technologies (NYSE:UTX), all users of steel and aluminum, alsohelped lead the stock prices lower.
MSCI's gauge of stock performance in 47 countries .MIWD00000PUS shed 0.99 percent to close at 512.96. Thepan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of leading regionalshares lost 1.26 percent to close at 1,468.47.
European markets had already closed by the time Trump'scomments about tariffs was reported.
The U.S. dollar index .DXY fell 0.35 percent, with theeuro EUR= up 0.55 percent to $1.226. The Japanese yen JPY= firmed 0.37 percent versus the greenback at 106.28 per dollar.
The Mexican peso MXN= lost 0.06 percent at 18.84 againstthe greenback, but the Canadian dollar rose 0.07 percent at 1.28per U.S. dollar.
The gap between short-dated U.S. borrowing costs and thosein Germany was at its widest in over 20 years as the monetarypolicy outlooks by the Fed and European Central Bank for the tworegions diverged. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR last rose15/32 in price to push yields lower to 2.8114 percent but arestill near four year highs.
U.S. consumer prices increased in January as a gauge ofunderlying inflation posting its largest gain in 12 months, buta survey showed the euro zone's factory boom slowed a littlefurther in February, pressuring euro zone yields lower. L2N1QI1U5 the U.S. we have at least three rate hikes this year,but in the euro zone, there was some exaggeration about whereinflation was heading so that is now being priced out and yieldsare moving to the downside," said DZ Bank strategist DanielLenz.
Crude oil fell more than 1.0 percent, hitting two-week lowson pressure from a strong U.S. dollar and worries that surgingU.S. crude output might thwart efforts by the Organization ofthe Petroleum Exporting Countries to drain global supply.
U.S. crude CLc1 settled down 65 cents at $60.99 per barreland Brent LCOc1 fell 90 cents to settle at $63.83.
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http://reut.rs/2CPDYaNWorld FX rates in 2018
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