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(NEW YORK ) — Another increase in trade tensions has stocks falling sharply Friday as the U.S. considers an even larger set of tariffs on imports from China and the two countries exchange pointed statements. Technology companies and banks are taking some of the worst losses.

Stocks have changed direction again and again this week as investors tried to get a sense of whether a trade dispute between the two nations will escalate, an outcome that could have major consequences for the global economy. The market didn’t get any help from a March jobs report that was weaker than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell dropped 581 points, or 2.4 percent, to 23,916 as of 2:15 p.m. Eastern time. Earlier it fell as much as 620 points.

The SP 500, which many index funds track, lost 53 points, or 2 percent, to 2,608. The Nasdaq composite slid 135 points, or 1.9 percent, to 6,940. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 29 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,513.

The Dow average, which contains numerous multinational companies including industrial powerhouses Boeing and Caterpillar, has swung dramatically this week, with about 1,300 points separating its highest and lowest marks. It fell as much as 758 points Monday, then recovered all of those losses, and late Thursday it was up as much as 519 points for the week. It’s down 0.7 percent for the week.

The administration spent the past few days reassuring investors that it’s not rushing into a trade war, and China’s government has done the same. But late Thursday, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to consider placing tariffs on $100 billion in duties on Chinese imports. China said it would “counterattack with great strength” if he that happens.

Stocks dipped further after Trump criticized the World Trade Organization on Twitter Friday morning.

China, which is a great economic power, is considered a Developing Nation within the World Trade Organization. They therefore get tremendous perks and advantages, especially over the U.S. Does anybody think this is fair. We were badly represented. The WTO is unfair to U.S.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2018

At the start of the week, the U.S. announced plans to put tariffs on $50 billion in goods imported from China, and the Chinese government responded with measures of equal size. Stocks plunged on Monday, but they rallied over the next few days as officials from both countries said they were open to talks and that the tariffs might never go into effect.

With administration officials sounding conciliatory one day and more hostile the next and the president always quick to fire off another tweet, investors simply don’t know what the U.S. wants to achieve, said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management.

“The process itself seems to be quite chaotic,” she said. “We’re not quite sure what the long term strategy is.”

Still, she said businesses support the idea of making changes in America’s trade relationship with China. But even though investors are optimistic about the state of the global economy and company profits continue to grow, Nixon said the administration is creating the thing investors hate the most: uncertainty.

Technology companies make a lot of their sales in Asia and they have struggled as Wall Street worries about a slowdown in global economic growth. Optimism about the world economy has helped many tech companies make huge gains in the last year.

Apple skidded $3.46, or 2 percent, to $169.34 and Cisco Systems declined 98 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $40.84. PayPal dipped $2.63, or 3.4 percent, to $74.32.

Industrial companies might face the worst pain from tariffs, as they could find themselves dealing with higher costs for components imported into the U.S. while the duties on their goods in China harm their sales.

Caterpillar, a construction equipment maker, shed $584, or 3.9 percent, to $142.29 while farm equipment company Deere sank $5.56, or 3.7 percent, to $145.79. Aerospace giant Boeing dipped $12.20, or 3.6 percent, to $324.20.

Health care companies also declined. Johnson Johnson sank $2.99, or 2.3 percent, to $127.72 and health insurer UnitedHealth dropped $59, or 2.6 percent, to $223.18.

Employers added 103,000 jobs in March, which is weaker than the last few months. The Labor Department also said fewer jobs were added in January and February that it initially estimated. The unemployment rate remained low and the job market looks fundamentally healthy, but it’s possible some employers are struggling to find workers.

Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $1.17, or 1.8 percent, to $62.37 a barrel in New York while Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 92 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $67.41 per barrel in London. Oil prices have also been volatile this week, as investors wonder if an increase in trade tensions will reduce demand for oil by slowing down the global economy.

Bond prices rose, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.78 percent from 2.83 percent. The lower yields mean banks can’t make as much money from lending, and that send bank stocks lower. JPMorgan Chase fell $3.23, or 2.9 percent, to $108.65 and BBT lost $1.89, or 3.6 percent, to $51.

Gold rose $7.60 to $1,336.10 an ounce. Silver edged up 1 cent to $16.36 an ounce. Copper fell 2 cents to $3.06 a pound.

The dollar fell to 106.86 yen from 107.12 yen. The euro rose to $1.2287 from $1.2256.

Germany’s DAX was down 0.5 percent while France’s CAC-40 fell 0.3 percent lower. The FTSE 100 in Britain lost 0.2 percent.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.4 percent while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.3 percent but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent after trading resumed following a holiday as investors caught up with the previous day’s global gains.

An employee at a San Diego gun store where a woman bought the pistol used to shoot three people at YouTube headquarters said there was nothing remarkable about the transaction, a newspaper reports.

Manny Mendoza, rangemaster at The Gun Range, said that the woman now widely known for posting prolific and bizarre videos on exercise, animal cruelty and veganism was not memorable.

“It’s not like she stood out,” Mendoza said to the Bay Area News Group. “I wish we could look into someone’s soul.”

Nasim Aghdam, an Iranian native in her late 30s, walked through a parking garage into a courtyard at the YouTube campus Tuesday and opened fire, police said. She wounded three people before killing herself.

San Bruno Police Commander Geoff Caldwell said Aghdam legally bought the 9mm handgun Jan. 16, and it was registered in her name. She was found with two magazines and the pistol.

Authorities and family members say she was angry about the policies and practices of the company.

She posted videos under the online name Nasime Sabz, and a website in that name decried YouTube’s policies, saying the company was trying to “suppress” content creators.

Aghdam took the pistol from the store the same day that the world’s biggest online video website announced stricter requirements for video producers to make money from views of their videos.

Her family has expressed shock and sorrow at the shootings, and said they warned law enforcement that she might be headed to YouTube and that she “hated” the company.

“Right now I’m thinking, she never hurt one ant. How (could) she shoot the people?” said her father, Ismail Aghdam, said in an interview with Good Morning America that aired Friday.

The family showed ABC News the sparsely furnished bedroom where she produced videos in which she exercised, promoted animal rights and explained the vegan diet, often wearing elaborate costumes or carrying a rabbit.

Ismail Aghdam reported his daughter missing on Monday.

Mountain View police encountered her sleeping in a car around 2 a.m. Tuesday, but had no reason to detain her. They say family members never said she could become violent or post a threat to YouTube employees.

San Bruno police say she practiced shooting at a local gun range on Tuesday before driving to YouTube headquarters.

Of three people wounded by gunshots, a 36-year-old man initially classified as critically injured remained hospitalized Friday in fair condition.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., pulled out his loaded .38-caliber handgun and placed it on a table for several minutes while making a point about gun rights during a meeting with constituents Friday. 

“I’m not going to be a Gabby Giffords,” Norman said, during the “coffee with constituents” meeting at a Rock Hill, S.C., restaurant. Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman, was shot outside a grocery store during a constituent gathering in 2011.

“I don’t mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or I’m shooting back,” Norman told The Post and Courier.

Giffords’ husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, said in a statement that Norman is “no Gabby Giffords.”

“Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear,” Kelly said.

Norman vowed to continue to display his gun at future constituent meetings.

“I’m tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem,” Norman told The Post and Courier. “Guns are not the problem.”

He told the paper guns are only dangerous in the hands of criminals. 

Contributing: The Associated Press

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