US STOCKS-Wall St falls as Trump tariff threats spark market uncertainty

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday, notching a weekly loss, after President Donald Trump recommended 50% tariffs on European goods, reopening a new front in global trade tensions and unleashing a fresh wave of market uncertainty.

All three main Wall Street indexes pared early losses but each still ended lower and shed more than 2% for the week.

Apple AAPL.O touched a two-week low and finished down after Trump warned the iPhone-maker it could face potential 25% tariffs on phones sold to U.S. customers but not manufactured in the country.

Treasury yields eased from multi-month highs, falling 4.4 basis points to 4.509% for the benchmark U.S. 10-year note.

"If I were to put a headline on today's story, it would be 'Here We Go Again!'" said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management in Santa Monica, California.

"This is Trump turning on the temperature on the tariff conversation with the EU and Apple. The markets were hoping that the worst was behind us when it comes to the tariff rhetoric. But in reality, there's still some smoldering embers when it comes to the tariff talk," St. Aubin added.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 40.09 points, or 0.69%, to end at 5,801.92 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 184.91 points, or 0.98%, to 18,740.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 246.10 points, or 0.59%, to 41,612.99.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump did not believe the EU's trade offers were of sufficient quality. He also said he hoped the threat of fresh tariffs would "light a fire under the EU" in negotiations.

Most megacap and growth stocks fell, including Amazon AMZN.O, Nvidia NVDA.O and Meta Platforms META.O.

The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street's "fear gauge," hit a more than two-week high. Semiconductor stocks .SOX dropped.

Deckers Outdoor DECK.N slumped after the maker of UGG boots forecast first-quarter net sales below estimates and said it would not provide annual targets due to tariff-led macroeconomic uncertainty. Sportswear maker Nike NKE.N dropped.