Stocks cautious amid latest tariff spat

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday after the Chinese government announced another round of retaliatory tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.16 points, or 0.18%, to 25,583.75. The S&P 500 ticked 0.75 points lower, closing at 2,857.70. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.66 points to 7,888.33.

China will match the U.S. and apply a 25% tariff on $16 billion worth of imported U.S. goods including crude oil, cars, coal, diesel, medical equipment and steel products. In total, the tariffs will be applied on 333 products and will be implemented on Aug. 23, the same day similar U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will take effect.

When it comes to earnings, 21st Century Fox reported after the closing bell Wednesday, along with IAC/InterActive, CenturyLink and Monster Beverage.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	44782	-128.65	-0.29%
SP500	S&P 500	6047.15	+14.77	+0.24%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	19403.947849	+185.78	+0.97%

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks ended higher even as the first round of economic sanctions were put back on Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 126.73 points, or 0.5%, to 25,628.91. The S&P 500 rose 8.05 points to 2,858.45. The Nasdaq Composite gained 23.99 points, closing at 7,883.66.

Tesla shares were lower on Wednesday, a day after the stock rallied on news that CEO Elon Musk is considering taking the company private.

Oil futures were sharply lower even after the U.S. Energy Information administration reported a smaller-than-expected draw on weekly inventories.

FOX Business’ Ken Martin contributed to this article.