US STOCKS-U.S. stocks slide as renewed tariff threat compounds pandemic fears

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* Tesla plunges after Musk tweet
* Amazon drops, sees possible Q2 loss
* U.S. manufacturing skids to 11-year low in April
* Indexes down: Dow 2.70%, S&P 500 3.05%, Nasdaq 3.38%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks dropped
sharply on Friday as investor risk appetite was soured by the
revived specter of tariffs against China, threatened anew by
U.S. President Donald Trump in retaliation for the COVID-19
pandemic which has brought global economies to a grinding halt.
All three major U.S. stock averages were down more than 2%,
with the Nasdaq on course for its worst day in a month.
May is often marked by sell-offs, and on the month's first
day, with jitters on the rise as some U.S. states begin easing
shutdown mandates, the adage holds true.
"Usually investors hinge onto the old 'sell in May and go
away,'" said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan
Capital Securities in New York. "And while I don't think that's
the case, I think this market will head lower."
This comes on the heels of April's remarkable run, which saw
the S&P 500 and the Dow posting their strongest monthly gains in
33 years.
Trump said his administration was crafting retaliatory
measures against China as punishment for the coronavirus
outbreak, once again sparking tariff fears that rattled markets
through much of the last two years. "The last thing you want is (tariff) retaliation when the
world economy looks like it's headed into depression," Cardillo
added. "The coronavirus has put everything out of whack, but the
economy was already weakening due to the trade war, and while
Trump is not responsible for the coronavirus, he's responsible
for the trade war."
A mixed bag of earnings, particularly a disappointing report
from Amazon.com AMZN.O , along with a fresh round of dismal
economic data, also weighed on sentiment.
The U.S. manufacturing sector skidded to an 11-year low last
month as factories were shuttered to comply with mandated
shutdowns, according to the Institute for Supply Management's
(ISM) purchasing managers index (PMI). The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 656.85 points,
or 2.7%, to 23,688.87, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 88.9 points, or
3.05%, to 2,823.53 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
300.88 points, or 3.38%, to 8,588.68.
All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 were in the red, with energy
companies .SPNY suffering the largest percentage drop.
Reporting season has crossed the halfway mark, with 275 of
the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 68% have
beaten consensus estimates.
In aggregate, first-quarter S&P 500 earnings are seen
falling 12.7% from a year ago, a sharp reversal from the 6.3%
annual growth forecast as it stood at the beginning of the year.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O plunged 9.4% after a tweet from company
Chief Executive Elon Musk said its stock price was "too high."
Amazon.com AMZN.O shares slid 6.9% after the online
retailer warned pandemic-related expenses could lead to its
first quarterly loss in five years. Apple Inc's AAPL.O quarterly results beat expectations,
but the iPhone maker declined to provide current-quarter
forecasts. Its shares were off 1.3%.
Exxon Mobil XOM.N dropped 6.1% after the company reported
a drop in profit due to a massive $3 billion writedown on
plummeting oil demand and prices. Rival Chevron Corp CVX.O posted a 38% profit increase and
slashed spending plans. Its shares were down 2.0%. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
7.16-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 6.52-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 16 new highs and 10 new lows.