Wall Street shifted lower in early trading Wednesday as markets took in more corporate earnings reports while considering the impact of tariffs being imposed by the United States and China.

Investors are assessing China's instant retaliation to Trump's additional tariffs, amid worries about the risk of a trade war.

Wall Street drifted higher Wednesday as gains for most stocks outweighed drops for Alphabet and some other big-name companies following their latest profit reports. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% following mixed trading across European and Asian markets.

Equity markets stumbled Wednesday and gold hit a new record as investors kept tabs on China and the United States after they exchanged tariffs, sparking fears of another debilitating trade