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 (.SPLRCT), opens new tab 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 (.DJI), opens new tab fell 203.42 points, or 0.48%, to 42,384.08, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab lost 73.96 points, or 1.26%, to 5,702.85 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab 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 (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab fell 8.65 points, or 1.01%, to 844.84, while the pan European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab 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.
Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, additional reporting by Karen Brettell and Saeed Azhar in New York Editing by Rod Nickel
