· Stocks plunged on Friday after President Donald Trump ordered that U.S. manufacturers find alternatives to their operations in China. Apple led the way lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 623.34 points lower, or 2.4% at 25,628.90. The S&P 500 slid 2.6% to close at 2,847.11. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3% to end the day at 7,751.77. The losses brought the Dow’s decline for August to more than 4%.
The major indexes also posted weekly losses for the fourth straight time. The Dow dropped about 1% this week while the S&P 500 pulled back 1.4%. The Nasdaq lost 1.8%.
· Trump tweeted on Friday: “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing..your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.” However, it is not clear how much authority the president has on this front.
Trump’s tweets come after China unveiled new tariffs on Chinese goods. China will implement new tariffs on another $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, including autos. The tariffs will range between 5% and 10% and will be implemented in two batches on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.
· European stocks closed lower on Friday as trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies heightened.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally about 0.7% lower, with most sectors in negative territory. Autos stocks suffered sharp losses by the close, slumping around 2%.
The Chinese State Council said it decided to slap tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on the additional imports in two batches, effective on September 1 and December 15. A 25% tariff will also be places on U.S. cars and 5% on auto parts, with effect from December 15.
· Stocks in Asia fell Monday morning following an escalation in the U.S.-China trade war late last week.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan dropped 2.36% in early trade, while the Topix index declined 2.18%. Losses were also seen over in South Korea, where the Kospi fell 1.8%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.18%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index declined 0.71%.
Reference: CNBC
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