Stocks Edge Lower as U.S.-China Trade War Worsens - The New York Times

Stocks edged lower again on Wall Street, sending the S&P 500 down for its fifth consecutive day, as the Trump administration imposed fresh tariffs, escalating the trade war with China.

The benchmark American stock market index fell, led by declines in tech, energy and industrial shares.

Early Friday, the administration raised tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on Chinese imports that are worth about $200 billion a year. President Trump said the increase came in response to Chinese officials attempting to “renegotiate” a pact aimed at calling a truce in the trade war. China said it would respond with unspecified countermeasures.

Mr. Trump also said on Twitter that “there is absolutely no need to rush” on a trade deal, dampening hopes that an agreement would be reached quickly.

Still, the Trump administration effectively delayed the full brunt of the tariff increase, specifying that it would collect the duties only on goods that leave China starting on Friday. That means they will not hit Chinese products already on ships destined for the United States, though goods that are flown in will be more immediately affected.

“Our base case remains that the U.S. and China will eventually reach some kind of accord,” Mark Haefele, global chief investment officer for the Swiss bank UBS, said in a research note. “Both the U.S. and China have strong incentives to reach a deal, and we do not expect a complete breakdown in negotiations.”

Concerns about the ongoing trade battle between the world’s two largest economies overshadowed excitement over trading debut of Uber. The ride-sharing company priced its public offering Thursday, which valued it at more than $82 billion.

Shares in China, which sometimes gets a lift from state-run companies looking to buoy the market, rose sharply but gains elsewhere in the world were more muted. Futures that allow investors to bet on the performance of stocks in the United States indicated that stocks on Wall Street would open a little lower.

European markets were higher. The Dax in Germany was up 0.9 percent and the CAC 40 in France was 0.6 percent higher. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.3 percent.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.1 percent, while the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 3.8 percent.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.8 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3 percent after disappointing wage data there. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.3 percent.

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