A trade war was the talk of the town today, as other countries imposed and/or discussed retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. after President Trump's tariffs went into effect at midnight. Stocks shook off some of the jitters by the afternoon, with the Nasdaq even rising triple digits in what ended up being a dead-cat bounce. To close, all three major benchmarks finished in the red, with the Dow dropping over 600 points for a second consecutive session.

Oil, Gold Respond to Global Trade Concerns

Oil futures fell today, extending yesterday's tumble after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) announced plans to lift output. Trade war concerns weighed on the commodity as well, with the most active April-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropping 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $68.26 a barrel. It's also worth noting May-dated Brent crude fell to its lowest level since September before finishing at its lowest level since November. 

Gold prices rose today, boosted by escalating trade concerns and a weaker U.S. dollar. Gold futures rose 0.8% to settle at $2,925.10. 

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