(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Indexes down: Dow 0.10%, S&P 500 down 0.87%, Nasdaq down

1.68%

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Trump preparing auto tariff announcement soon, report says

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Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) up on sale of Family Dollar business

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GameStop ( GME ) climbs on bitcoin bet, higher Q4 profit

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Barclays cuts S&P 500 2025 target

(Updates with mid-session prices)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes

fell on Wednesday, dragged down by megacap stocks, as investors

awaited clearer guidance on the Trump administration's

forthcoming tariffs expected to be enacted next week.

In the latest development, a report said U.S. President

Donald Trump is readying an announcement on auto levies as soon

as Wednesday.

Auto stocks such as Tesla fell 5%, while General

Motors ( GM ) and Ford were marginally lower.

The uncertainty regarding the scale of U.S. tariffs, the

possibility of retaliatory measures from trading partners, and

the potential ripple effects on the global economy and

businesses have kept investors on edge over the past month.

However, investors also anticipated that Trump could soften

his stance after he hinted that not all tariffs would be imposed

by the April 2 deadline, with potential exemptions for certain

countries-though the details remain unclear.

This provided a degree of stability to Wall Street over

the past two sessions, with the major indexes reaching two-week

highs. The S&P has climbed over 4% since its mid-March lows,

while the Nasdaq has surged approximately 6%.

"The market is now on hold. (Trump's softened tariff

stance) seems to have made a temporary relief," said Peter

Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

Investors "are going to be sensitive to tariffs ... the

White House keeps changing its position, creating uncertainty."

Heavyweight growth stocks dragged the S&P 500, with Nvidia ( NVDA )

off 5.5% and Alphabet dropping 1.5%.

At 12:19 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 41.28 points, or 0.10%, to 42,543.18, the S&P 500

lost 50.12 points, or 0.87%, to 5,726.53 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 306.28 points, or 1.68%, to 17,965.85.

Six of the 11 S&P 500 sectors edged higher, led by

energy's 0.9% rise. Crude prices climbed as investors

priced in tighter global supply following the U.S. threat of

tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan oil.

Reflecting the cautious sentiment, a survey revealed a

decline in optimism among top business executives in the first

quarter.

In anticipation of tariff-induced price hikes, businesses

scrambled to build up inventories. Data showed that orders for

durable U.S. manufactured goods saw an unexpected increase last

month.

Further contributing to market unease, Barclays revised its

S&P 500 target downward to 5,900 points from 6,600. Earlier this

month, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had

tumbled 10% from their respective record highs - a phenomenon

known as a correction.

The main focus of this week will be the personal

consumption expenditures price index - the Federal Reserve's

favored inflation gauge - due on Friday.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he's uncertain

about the effect of Trump's tariffs, with the possibility that

they could push up prices arguing for higher interest rates.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) rose 5.3% after the discount-retail

chain said it is nearing a sale of its Family Dollar business to

a consortium of private equity investors for about $1 billion.

Excluding the Family Dollar banner, the company reported

quarterly net sales marginally higher than the previous year's

figure.

GameStop ( GME ) jumped 13.7% following its board's

unanimous approval to incorporate bitcoin as a treasury reserve

asset.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.76-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 137

new lows.