BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks sank Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more tariff hikes on Chinese imports if talks aimed at ending a trade war fail to produce an interim agreement.
Market benchmarks in London, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Tokyo declined. Wall Street looked set to slip.
Trump said Tuesday that an agreement on the “Phase 1” deal announced last month “could happen soon.” But he warned he was ready to raise tariffs “very substantially” if that fails.
The two sides disagree publicly about whether the U.S. agreed to roll back some punitive tariffs imposed in the fight over Beijing’s trade surplus and technology ambitions. The Chinese government said last week that was settled, but Trump denied that.
Trump’s comments “served as a reminder of the challenge that the two sides face,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report. However, she said, investors saw them as “positioning statements,” reducing their impact.
LeBron’s Friend and Head Coach Eviscerates His Team After Christmas Meltdown: ‘Don’t Care Enough to Be a Professional’
Leftist Celebrity Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson Gets Roasted After He Tries to Debunk Timeless Tale of Rudolph on Christmas Eve
‘Perception vs. reality’: Trump’s economy picks up speed — but voters aren’t buying it yet
Trump and former Fulton County codefendants plan to hold Fani Willis to ‘maximum legal accountability’
Nude burglar arrested on Christmas night after allegedly breaking into two luxury Florida homes
Former Florida law enforcement officer accused of forcing 6-year-old underwater in hotel pool: report
California family revives beloved Christmas tradition with surprise sleepover visit
$220 Million Green Bay Packers Star Sparks Controversy After Christmas Gifting Revelation
Trump to Meet Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago ‘to Work Out Issues as Much as Possible’
MAHA Hits Roadblock After Obama Judge Sides with Conglomeration of Food Dye Corporations
Christmas Tragedy: Grandfather Dies After Gruesome ‘Freak Accident’ at McDonald’s
Trump reveals potential Kennedy Center marble armrests ‘unlike anything ever done or seen before’
Cowardly Scum: Man Kills Himself After Shooting His Family Over NFL Dispute
Tiny Pacific nation to take up to 75 deportees as Trump administration accelerates mass removals
Misspelled learning center, no children inside: Emmer presses Walz over Minnesota daycare tied to $4M
In midday trading, London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.5% to 7,331 and Frankfurt’s DAX lost 0.7% to 13,186. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% to 5,894. On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were each down 0.4%.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 2,905.24 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 0.9% to 23,319.87. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 1.8% to 26,571.46.
South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.9% to 2,122.45 and Australia’s S&P-ASX 200 sank 0.8% at 6,698.40. India’s Sensex lost 0.3% to 40,215.20.
Hong Kong shares, already under pressure from the U.S.-China tariff war and slowing global demand, have been jolted by growing violence in anti-government protests.
The protests began in June over a proposed extradition law and expanded to include demands for greater democracy and other grievances. Hong Kong tumbled into its first recession in a decade in the latest quarter.
Momentum for the global stock market has been mostly upward for more than five weeks as worries about the U.S.-China trade war have eased.
This week, the U.S. Labor Department is due to give updates on consumer and wholesale inflation. Economists expect a government report to show retail sales returned to growth in October.
LeBron’s Friend and Head Coach Eviscerates His Team After Christmas Meltdown: ‘Don’t Care Enough to Be a Professional’
Leftist Celebrity Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson Gets Roasted After He Tries to Debunk Timeless Tale of Rudolph on Christmas Eve
‘Perception vs. reality’: Trump’s economy picks up speed — but voters aren’t buying it yet
Trump and former Fulton County codefendants plan to hold Fani Willis to ‘maximum legal accountability’
Nude burglar arrested on Christmas night after allegedly breaking into two luxury Florida homes
Former Florida law enforcement officer accused of forcing 6-year-old underwater in hotel pool: report
California family revives beloved Christmas tradition with surprise sleepover visit
$220 Million Green Bay Packers Star Sparks Controversy After Christmas Gifting Revelation
Trump to Meet Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago ‘to Work Out Issues as Much as Possible’
MAHA Hits Roadblock After Obama Judge Sides with Conglomeration of Food Dye Corporations
Christmas Tragedy: Grandfather Dies After Gruesome ‘Freak Accident’ at McDonald’s
Trump reveals potential Kennedy Center marble armrests ‘unlike anything ever done or seen before’
Cowardly Scum: Man Kills Himself After Shooting His Family Over NFL Dispute
Tiny Pacific nation to take up to 75 deportees as Trump administration accelerates mass removals
Misspelled learning center, no children inside: Emmer presses Walz over Minnesota daycare tied to $4M
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is due to give testimony to Congress on Wednesday about the U.S. economy. Most investors expect the Fed to keep interest rates on hold for now after cutting them three times since the summer.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 37 cents to $56.43 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 6 cents on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 60 cents to $61.46 per barrel in London. It retreated 12 cents the previous session.
CURRENCY: The dollar fell to 108.84 Japanese yen from 109.01 yen. The euro dipped to $1.1006 from $1.1010.
Story cited here.
