LIVE MARKETS-US stocks hunker down ahead of Trump tariffs

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U.S. STOCKS HUNKER DOWN AHEAD OF TRUMP TARIFFS

Wall Street indexes are lower early on Wednesday as investors await details of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans to assess their impact on the global economy, corporate earnings and inflation.

President Trump is set to impose sweeping new tariffs which he has proclaimed as "Liberation Day" for the United States, escalating a trade war with global partners, risking cost increases and upending a decades-old trade order.

The White House tariff announcement is planned for 4 p.m. EDT/2000 GMT.

In any event, the main U.S. indexes are just modestly lower.

All S&P 500 .SPX sectors are red with energy .SPNY, off 1%, taking the biggest hit. Communication services .SPLRCL is around flat.

Of note, however, changes are relatively modest as 10 out of 11 sectors are posting losses of less than 0.75%.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood around 09:52 a.m. on Wednesday:

(Terence Gabriel)

FOR WEDNESDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

'EVERYTHING IS AWESOME' NO MORE: U.S. BANKS FACE 'MODEST RECESSION' REALITY - CLICK HERE

LARGER TARIFFS POSE STAGFLATIONARY RISKS, CITIGROUP SAYS - CLICK HERE

BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD CAUGHT IN THE CLOUD - CLICK HERE

WATCH OUT FOR AN UPTICK IN U.S. APRIL DATA - CLICK HERE

US TREASURIES WILL FOLLOW STOCKS ON APRIL 2 - CLICK HERE

TRUMP TARIFFS: WILL THE UK EARN A FREE PASS? CLICK HERE

HEALTHCARE LEADS EUROPE LOWER - CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES DIP AHEAD OF LIBERATION DAY - CLICK HERE

MORNING BID: MARKETS AT A STANDSTILL BEFORE TARIFF DRAMA - CLICK HERE