NEW YORK — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s tariffs taking effect on dozens of countries had only a muted effect on markets worldwide.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after briefly climbing to the cusp of its all-time high during the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 224 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% to a record.

Worries are high that Trump’s tariffs are damaging the economy, particularly after last week’s worse-than-expected report on the job market. But hopes for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve and a torrent of stronger-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies are helping to offset the concerns, at least for now.

Lower interest rates can give the economy and investment prices a

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