On The Fly: Top stock stories at midday

U.S. stocks traded lower at midday as news that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to propose trade duties on China imports fueled fresh fears about a potential trade war. Stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains following the Federal Reserve's move to raise the benchmark interest rate. ECONOMIC EVENTS: Initial U.S. jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 229,000 in the week ended March 17, but they remain near the lowest levels since 1970. The monthly average of claims increased by 2,250 to 223,750. Continuing unemployment claims fell by 57,000 to 1.83 million. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose 0.6% in February, following a 0.8% gain in January and a 0.7% rise in December. COMPANY NEWS: Facebook (FB) shares remained under pressure this morning, even after CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized in a CNN interview for the data-mining scandal, calling it a major breach of trust. He added he's "open" to testifying before members of Congress... The headquarters of the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which is at the center of the data leak scandal enveloping Facebook, were evacuated because of a suspicious package, according to Newsweek... Ford (F) executives Musa Tanq and Raj Rao are leaving the automaker. Both were recruited last year from Silicon Valley, but are now the latest to leave after Jim Hackett replaced Mark Fields as CEO last year... BlackBerry (BB) reached an agreement with Jaguar Land Rover (TTM) to provide software for the Tata Motors unit's next-generation electric vehicles... Best Buy (BBY) will stop selling electronic devices made by China's Huawei Technologies over the next few weeks, according to a Reuters report... GoPro (GPRO) announced a multi-year deal with Jabil (JBL) under which Jabil will use GoPro's design and intellectual property for use in approved third-party devices. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Pandora (P), which rose 6% after Raymond James analyst upgraded the stock two notches to Strong Buy from Market Perform, saying he is positive on Pandora's acquisition of AdsWizz. Also higher was Guess (GES), which gained 27.6% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was AbbVie (ABBV), which slipped 13.6% after it said it won't seek accelerated approval for Rova-T. Also lower was Meredith (MDP), which fell 1.5% after it confirmed that it will explore of a sale of its TIME, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money brands and announced headcount reductions. INDEXES: Near noon, the Dow was down 437.10, or 1.77%, to 24,245.21; the Nasdaq was down 129.98, or 1.77%, to 7,216.66; and the S&P 500 was down 46.68, or 1.72%, to 1,664.82.