Overseas Market Report
Wall Street’s major indexes have fallen as US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of additional tariffs on Chinese imports and Apple Inc indicated that some of its products could be subjected to such levies.
US stocks were lower for most of Friday’s session but dipped further in the last half-hour of trading on reports that Apple products, including the Apple Watch and AirPods, would be slapped with duties. Apple shares, which had been in positive territory for most of the session, ended 0.8 per cent lower. The company provided those details in response to the White House’s proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. A comment period for those tariffs ended on Thursday night. Earlier on Friday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump would not make any decisions on those tariffs until officials evaluated public comments. “Apple is a bellwether name,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. “(That’s) why we may be seeing some profit-taking going into the weekend.”
US stocks had already been pressured after Trump said he had tariffs ready to impose on an additional $US267 billion ($A376 billion) worth of Chinese imports, on top of the proposed $US200 billion. The escalated trade rhetoric contributed to anxiety among investors regarding the market’s outlook. “There’s the possibility of (China) devaluing its currency again, which pushes up the dollar and turns the pressure up on US exporters,” Krosby said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.33 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 25,916.54, the S&P 500 lost 6.37 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 2,871.68 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 20.19 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,902.54.
Morning Market Note - Monday 10th September