Mumbai, Feb. 12 -- The Nasdaq fell 70.41 points (0.4%) to 19,643.86, the S&P 500 crept up 2.06 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,068.50 and the Dow rose 123.24 points (0.3%) to 44,593.65.

Stocks moved downwards in early trading amid lingering concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump officially announced tariffs on US steel and aluminium imports. A statement from the White House said Trump is reinstating a 25% tariff on steel imports and increasing tariffs on aluminium imports to 25%.

Networking and computer hardware stocks too were considerably weak, contributing to the decrease by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Airline stocks were also significantly weak as reflected by the 2.1% slump by the NYSE Arca Airline ...