Stock markets falter after renewed trade war threats from Trump

By | 07/17/2019

• Trump threatens to impose tariffs on $325bn more Chinese imports
• S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average subsequently trade lower
• Materials and industrial sectors strengthened

Stock markets in the United States were dragged down yesterday by disappointing bank earnings and renewed threats from Donald Trump over the trade war with China. Not only did he say that a trade resolution could be “a long way off”, but he also threatened to impose tariffs on an extra $325bn worth of imports from China.

Chinese commerce minister Zhong Sham will soon join the negotiation team, which some observers expect could mean a tougher stance from China in these negotiations.

The S&P 500 dropped by 0.34 to close at 3,004.04. The Nasdaq Composite ended 0.43 down at 8,222.80, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.09 to close at 27,335.63.

Wells Fargo dropped by up to 3 percent after its net interest income came in well below Wall Street estimates.

Goldman Sachs announced higher-than-expected equities sales and trading revenue. This boosted its stock price by 2 per cent. JPMorgan announced an 11 per cent increase in consumer and community bank revenues, which helped its EPS to exceed Wall Street estimates.

Meanwhile, meal kit delivery service Blue Apron’s share price exploded by up to 50 per cent.

The biggest gainers and losers on the S&P 500 were:

• J.B. Hunt Transportation Services, up 5.79 per cent
• Charles Schwab, up 3.50 per cent
• Alaska Air Group, up 3.27 per cent
• Western Digital, down 5.91 per cent
• NRG Energy, down 4.66 per cent
• First Republic Bank, down 4.35 per cent

The S&P 500’s technical index fell by nearly 0.9 per cent.

Energy stocks notched up the biggest losses, while the materials and industrial sectors gained between 0.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent.