The stock market had its worst day since May after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring and President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of U.S. trading partners.

U.S. stocks closed at an all-time high, another milestone in a remarkable recovery from a springtime plunge caused by fears that the Trump administration’s trade policies could harm the economy.

Stocks surrendered early gains and closed lower after the White House said President Donald Trump would impose promised tariffs on some key U.S. trading partners.

Stock indexes closed mostly lower on Wall Street on the final day of another record-setting year.

Asian stock markets are lower after Wall Street hit a new record as investors looked ahead to this week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for reassurance interest rates will be kept ultra-low.

FILE - A street sign is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)BEIJING – Major Asian stock indexes were mostly higher on Thursday after President Joe Biden held his first conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since taking office. In their phone conversation, Biden and Xi appeared to have struck a conciliatory tone, Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary. Shares in Aphria and Tilray, Canadian companies that agreed to combine in December, also rose. The stocks are also benefiting from optimism that industry friendly legislation measures could become law under the Biden administration.

Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday as surging virus counts and China-U.S. tensions weighed on sentiment. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)TOKYO – Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday as surging virus counts and China-U.S. tensions weighed on sentiment. A move by the Trump administration to further sanction Chinese companies fueled unease over tensions between the two biggest economies. In U.S. trading, China Telecom gained 8.8% on Tuesday but lost 2.1% in after hours trading. The majority of big stocks in the S&P 500 notched gains, with oil producers leading the way as crude prices strengthened.

Wall Street is moving past the uncertainty of election season and, if history is a guide, investors can indeed breathe a sigh of relief. Stocks typically post solid gains following an election, no matter which party controls the White House or Congress. On average the S&P 500 gains 8.1% in the year after the election, according to data from the research firm CFRA. Barack Obama was the only Democratic president since 1944 to preside over a split Congress, with Biden as his vice president. Besides the post-election relief, the release of positive data on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Pfizer booster the market.

BEIJING – Wall Street closed out another punishing week Friday with the S&P 500 posting its first back-to-back monthly loss since the pandemic first gripped the economy in March. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% and ended the week with a 5.6% loss, its worst in seven months. President Donald Trump often cites the stock market as a barometer of his administration’s performance on the economy. A similar trend has been occurring across the market: Stocks are not getting the bounce they usually do after reporting results that beat analysts' expectations. A measure of fear in the U.S. stock market, the VIX index, flipped between small gains and losses before rising 1.1%.