Dow loses 287 points as stocks slammed by escalating trade conflict
Wells Fargo Investment Institute's Paul Christopher on the state of the markets.
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as traders reacted to President Trump's threat to impose $200 billion of new tariffs on Chinese goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 287.26 points, or 1.15%, to 24,700.21. The S&P 500 fell 11.18 points, or 0.4%, to 2,762.57. The Nasdaq Composite was down 21.44 points, or 0.28%, at 7,725.58.
The escalating tit-for-tat trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies comes after Trump, last Friday, put tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, warning that if China retaliated, so would the U.S.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43958.19 | +47.21 | +0.11% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5985.38 | +1.39 | +0.02% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19230.725379 | -50.68 | -0.26% |
“The clear escalation that’s occurred in recent days has shaken investors and appears to brought an end to the good run that U.S. stock markets had been on since the start of May,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda. “While Chinese stocks are faring much worse at the moment, U.S. companies are obviously not immune to a trade war and could come under more pressure unless both sides find a solution.”
Trading resumed Tuesday in China and Hong Kong following Monday’s holiday, and the Shanghai Composite finished the session down 3.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 2.8% to a four-month low. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended the day with a loss of 1.8%.
Industrial and materials stocks, which have significant exposure to international trade, were among the biggest losers on the market Tuesday. Boeing shares retreated 3.8%, while U.S. Steel fell 2.7%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 139.93 | -5.27 | -3.63% |
| GE | GE AEROSPACE | 183.58 | +0.94 | +0.51% |
Traders also digested the latest report on home construction. Housing starts climbed to an 11-year high in May.
Netflix clinched its 32nd record close of the year after multiple analysts upgraded their ratings for the stock. Piper Jaffray raised its price target to $420 from $367, while Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. raised its target to $460 from $375. GBH Insights was the most bullish, increasing its target to $500 from $400. The video streaming company topped $400 a share for the first time in Tuesday trading.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 830.47 | +10.97 | +1.34% |
Commodities were mostly lower with oil futures hit particularly hard by trade fears. U.S. crude fell 1.2% to $65.07 a barrel. The Organization of the Exporting Countries will meet later this week to discuss increasing oil production.
Gold finished slightly higher, and just above its lowest price of the year.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin and Charles Brady contributed to this article.