2018.05.2220:31:00UTC+00Wall Street Retreats as Investors Weigh Trade Talks

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with U.S.-China trade talks. He also said a highly anticipated summit with North Korea may not happen after all.

Shares fluctuated between small gains and losses for most of the session before moving lower in the final 90 minutes of trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 178.88 points to end at 24,834.41 as Boeing shares fell 2.5 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 2,724.44 with energy falling behind. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.2 percent to close at 7,378.46.

The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 index fell 0.7 percent points to 1,625.25, ending a four-day rally that took it to a series of records.

Trade policy continued to be a primary driver for investors, and the issue grew clouded on Tuesday. Asked if he was happy with how U.S.-China trade talks were going, President Donald Trump told reporters, “Not really,” and said negotiations “have a long way to go.”

Other geopolitical tensions also continued to hover in the background, with uncertainty over a historic meeting between Trump and North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un. Vice President Mike Pence warned in an interview late Monday that North Korea cannot “play” Trump where nuclear disarmament is concerned. On Tuesday, Trump said a planned summit with the North Korean leader may happen later than currently scheduled.

Stocks began the session trading higher after China said it will reduce levies on automakers and car parts. Shares of Ford and General Motors increased on the news, adding 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Tesla initially climbed over one percent before dropping 3.3 percent.