Stocks pressured by potential trade war
Third Seven Advisors managing director Michael Block and FBN’s Connell McShane on how President Trump has helped move the stock market.
Stocks recorded modest losses Friday as the U.S. and China exchanged blows in an ongoing dispute over trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.83 points, or 0.34%, to 25,090.48. The S&P 500 ticked 3.07 points lower, or 0.11%, to 2,779.42. The Nasdaq Composite was down 14.66 points, or 0.19%, at 7,746.38.
Before market open on Friday, the Trump administration said it will impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion in Chinese goods. China countered with tariffs on its own, saying it would target the same amount of U.S. products.
The White House announcement pledged that if China were to retaliate, the U.S. will strike back with even more tariffs.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5870.62 | -78.55 | -1.32% |
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43444.99 | -305.87 | -0.70% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18680.120875 | -427.53 | -2.24% |
Commenting on the latest tariffs, Ben Phillips, CIO at EventShares said, “EventShares continues to believe a global trade slowdown is the biggest risk to markets. We think there's an increased risk of a sell off this summer on renewed trade fears.”
Beyond the tariffs, there was some economic data reports for traders to contend with on Friday. U.S. capacity utilization fell to 77.9% in May from 78.1%, while the Empire State manufacturing survey rose 4.9 points to 25 in June, well above expectations for 19.1 and the best reading since October.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment rose to 99.3 in June, another sign the U.S. consumer is optimistic.
Gold futures closed at their lowest price of the year.
U.S. oil futures slipped $1.83, or 2.7%, to $65.06 a barrel.
Energy stocks led equities lower, as the sector posted a 2.1% loss on the day. It was the worst-performing sector in the S&P.
Friday's losses clinched a weekly decline for the Dow. The blue-chip index fell 0.89% on the week, while the S&P 500 edged out a 0.01% gain. A strong week for tech and media stocks--fueled by AT&T's approved takeover of Time Warner--helped the Nasdaq post a 1.32% gain.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin contributed to this article.