U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday after earnings disappointed and trade jitters escalated over worries that the European Union could slap retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the United States. Officials from the EU Trade Commission, due in Washington next week for trade talks, are said to be preparing a list of tit-for-tat actions in response to proposed U.S. tariffs on EU cars. Automakers said tariffs on U.S. cars and car parts could increase vehicle prices by $83 billion annually. Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co were down 0.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report showed manufacturers in all 12 districts of the U.S. central bank are worried about the impact of the trade dispute. Shares of eBay dropped 10.1 percent after a disappointing earnings report. The stock was among the biggest drags on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. American Express Co dipped 2.7 percent after the credit card company reported rising expenses due to increased spending on its rewards program. The dollar index briefly hit a one-year high, reinforcing worries that the strong greenback could hurt results from U.S. multinationals. But the dollar pared gains after President Donald Trump expressed concern about a strong currency. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134.79 points, or 0.53 percent, to 25,064.5, the S&P 500 lost 11.13 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,804.49 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 29.15 points, or 0.37 percent, to 7,825.30. The financial sector saw the biggest percentage drop in the S&P 500, down 1.4 percent. While all three major U.S. stock indexes closed in negative territory, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.37-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored advancers. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.29 billion shares, compared with the 6.46 billion-share average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
