Stocks Tumble After Trump Orders Tariffs on $50B Worth of Chinese Goods

The threat that a tit-for-tat trade spat with China will erupt and hamper global growth has investors on edge a day after the Fed sought to reassure markets that it's in no hurry to raise rates even as it lifted growth projections for the world's largest economy. Trump's first trade action directly aimed at China would come as policy makers including IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warn of a global trade conflict that could undermine the broadest world recovery in years.

Stocks were also hit when John Dowd resigned as Trump's lead attorney countering Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe as the inquiry into possible collusion in the 2016 election intensifies.

Facebook Inc. helped pace a decline in the tech sector, falling as much as 2.5 percent before paring losses. This week's selloff in tech stocks is on pace to be the worst since early February. Other notable decliners Thursday included Accenture Plc and Micron Technology Inc., which reports fiscal second-quarter earnings after the close of trading.

Elsewhere, West Texas oil fluctuated before falling and the Australian dollar slipped after the country's unemployment rate climbed. The British pound initially jumped after the country's central bank voted 7-2 to maintain interest rates, but pared as investors digested comments from policy makers that weren't overtly hawkish.

— Check out Bill Gross: Don't Expect 3 to 4 Fed Hikes This Year on ThinkAdvisor.