Premarket: Shares dither, oil skids as tariffs fan growth worries

News Snapshot:

Shares struggled for direction on Wednesday and oil prices slid as investors awaited a raft of important economic data that could underscore this week’s corporate warnings about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The U.S. is due to report advance first quarter GDP data at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show the economy stalled or even contracted in the first quarter, swamped by a deluge of imported goods by businesses eager to avoid higher costs. Data on Tuesday showed the U.S. goods trade deficit surged to an all-time high in March, prompting economists to sharply downgrade...