The back-and-forth swings continued in the major U.S. indices today. Stocks opened lower after China decided to play hardball in response to President Trump’s latest tariff measures, triggering a sharp early sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 615 points, the S&P 500 fell nearly 100 points, and the Nasdaq slid about 480 points before bargain hunters stepped in.Midday, sentiment improved after USTR Greer sought to calm market fears over China, prompting a strong rebound. The Dow and S&P 500 both turned positive — with the Dow up 455 points and the S&P gaining 26 points — while the Nasdaq nearly erased its losses, briefly trading down just 3.5 points.Late in the session, however, comments from President Trump that he was considering terminating business ties with China related to cooking oil and other trade sectors reversed the recovery. Selling pressure returned into the close.By day’s end, the Dow still managed to finish higher by 202 points (+0.44%), while the S&P 500 slipped 0.16% and the Nasdaq once again lagged, down 0.76% — a fitting end to a day defined by volatility and headline-driven reversals.Other headwinds include the government shut down (GOP will meet again tomorrow). Anecdotal reports are that employment is slowing. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.