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Indexes down: S&P 500 1.68%, Nasdaq 1.40%, Dow 2.23%

(Updates with late morning prices)

By Pranav Kashyap and Purvi Agarwal

April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes resumed their

slide in late morning trade on Monday as investors retreated for

the third day after President Donald Trump unleashed a global

trade war and a report that he might consider temporary relief

turned out to be erroneous.

U.S. stocks have been hammered by the Trump administration's

plans to impose sweeping tariffs on all imports into the United

States as well as more levies on some major trading partners.

The S&P 500 fell 20% on an intraday basis from its February

record closing high. If the index ends down 20% from its

all-time closing highs, it would confirm the index has been in a

bear market since February.

The blue-chip Dow is down nearly 17% from its December

all-time high.

At one point during the morning, however, stocks suddenly

reversed course and rallied after a report that Trump was

considering a 90 day pause on tariffs. But White House officials

quickly denied the report, sending the market back in the red.

CNBC, which in an on-screen chyron had cited White House

economic adviser Kevin Hassett for the pause, subsequently

reported the White House denials. It did not immediately respond

to a Reuters request for comment.

"There is reporting that the White House is not confirming

the idea of a pause. It's just rumors that are affecting stock

prices right now, and that's how bad the situation is," said

Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

At 11:18 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 854.89 points, or 2.23%, to 37,459.97, the S&P 500

lost 85.02 points, or 1.68%, to 4,989.06 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 218.06 points, or 1.40%, to 15,369.73.

All three indexes were at more than one-year lows.

Trump announced hefty tariffs against U.S. trading partners

last week, sparking retaliation from China and fueling concerns

that the trade war will impede economic growth and stoke

inflationary pressures.

In the two sessions after the tariff decision, the S&P 500

has tumbled 10.5%, erasing nearly $5 trillion in market value,

marking its most significant two-day loss since March 2020.

Trump told reporters late on Sunday that investors must

endure the consequences and that he would refrain from

negotiating with China until the U.S. trade deficit is

addressed.

The sharp declines in the past two sessions pushed the

tech-heavy Nasdaq into bear market territory, while the Dow

Jones index slumped more than 10% from its record-closing high.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 5.68-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and a 3.51-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 167 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 6 new highs and 936 new

lows.