US benchmark equity indexes are on track to close lower on Thursday, after President Donald Trump's latest tariffs increased concerns regarding global inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.9% to 40,579.9, while the Nasdaq Composite decreased 5.9% to 16,567.7. The S&P 500 was down 4.7% to 5,402.8. All sectors except consumer staples were in red. Energy and technology saw the steepest declines.

Apple (AAPL), Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP (HPQ) are among the "worst positioned in IT hardware following "calamitous" tariffs announced by the Trump administration, Morgan Stanley said Thursday in a note. The tech giants "all rely on extensive international manufacturing, with the large majority of finished goods sold into the US assembled" in Southeast Asia, Morgan Stanley said. Dell was the worst performer on the S&P 500, down 19%, while Apple and HP were down 9.7% and 14%, respectively.

Lamb Weston (LW) shares jumped 10%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The frozen potato product supplier posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results as volume gains helped offset lower prices, while the company reiterated its full-year outlook.

Kroger (KR) rose 4.5%. Guggenheim increased price target on the company's stock to $73 from $71. Morgan Stanley analysts said selected retailers such as Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST), along with grocery chains Kroger and Albertson's (ACI), may be better positioned to weather US tariffs due to a relatively low exposure to imported merchandise, with "discounters (and) dollar stores the most vulnerable."

The 10-year US Treasury yield dropped nearly 14 basis points to 4.06%, while the two-year rate was down 19 basis points to 3.71%.

May West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 6.9% to $66.77 a barrel.