Wall Street set to sink as China trade spat intensifies
June 15, 2018
Hot Stock in Focus – SLM Corporation (NASDAQ: SLM)
June 17, 2018* U.S. to implement 25 pct tariffs on $50 bln of Chinesegoods
* Adobe drops after Q3 rev forecast misses estimates
* Boeing drags on Dow
By Sruthi Shankar
June 15 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Friday after theUnited States announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinesegoods, spurring a promise of immediate and equivalentretaliation from Beijing.
President Donald Trump said in a statement that a 25 percenttariff would be imposed on an initial list of strategicallyimportant imports from China from July 6 and vowed furthermeasures if Beijing struck back.
In response, China’sCommerce Ministry said it planned toimpose tariff measures of similar size and intensity. Beijinghas published its own list that target $50 billion in U.S.goods, including soybeans, aircraft, and autos and chemicals.
BoeingBA.N , the single largest U.S. exporter to China,fell 1.7 percent, dragging the Dow lower for the fourth day in arow.
Construction equipment maker CaterpillarCAT.N slipped 1.6percent and agricultural trader BungeBG.N dropped 3 percent.
Global financial markets have struggled since February inthe face of signs Washington and Beijing were headed toward atrade war after several rounds of negotiations failed to resolveU.S. complaints over Chinese industrial policy, market accessand a $375 billion trade gap.
“It has gotten investors nervous,” said Peter Cardillo,chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in NewYork. “It’s going to probably mean a cautious and bumpy ride forthe stock markets.”
Investors are also weighing the impact of tighteningmonetary policy by central banks on the equities market.
The U.S. Federal Reserve increased its key interest rate forthe second time this year on Wednesday and hinted at thepossibility of two more hikes by the end of 2018.
The European Central Bank weighed in on Thursday to say itwould end its bond-purchase program at year-end, even if anyinterest rate hike was still distant. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1TG0UZ
At 9:51 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI wasdown 140.43 points, or 0.56 percent, at 25,034.88, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 10.06 points, or 0.36 percent, at 2,772.43 andthe Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 38.09 points, or 0.49percent, at 7,722.95.
NXP SemiconductorsNXPI.O rose 3.1 percent after a mediareport that Beijing had already approved Qualcomm Inc’sQCOM.O proposed $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker. Qualcomm wasup 0.6 percent. Sources close to the talks have told Reutersthat China is yet to approve the deal. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1TG2C3
Adobe ADBE.O shares dropped 3.2 percent, the biggestpercentage decliner on the S&P 500, after the company projectedthird-quarter revenue that fell slightly below estimates. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1TG5OR
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.27-to-1ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.90-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and two newlows, while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 16 new lows. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by AnilD’Silva) (([email protected]; within U.S. +1 646 2238780; outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6328; Reuters Messaging:[email protected]))
