Wall Street stocks fell sharply at midday Thursday, with the Dow down more than two percent on worries of a trade war after President Donald Trump said he will slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Near 1910 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down just over 2.0 percent at 24,517.64.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.7 percent to 2,667.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.8 percent to 7,140.94.

U.S. investors have been on edge over the prospect of higher interest rates. Trump's comments on tariffs inject additional uncertainty into the outlook, analysts said.