(Agencies) - U.S. stock indices dropped today, Thursday, after President Donald Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on major imports raised concerns among investors, despite positive economic data that boosted expectations for the performance of the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.7%, while the S&P 500 dropped by 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.6% of its value by the end of the trading session.

These declines came after Trump announced his intention to impose additional tariffs on Chinese and European products as part of a policy aimed at protecting American industry, which raised fears of renewed trade tensions.

Despite these threats, data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that weekly unemployment claims fell to their lowest level in four months, reflecting continued improvement in the labor market. Core inflation also showed a slight slowdown, boosting hopes that the Federal Reserve (central bank) may move towards easing its monetary policy in the coming months.

Analysts believe that the uncertainty surrounding tariffs may lead to increased volatility in the markets in the upcoming period, as markets await the results of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week to assess the interest rate trajectory.