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.
Cuban ex-President Raul Castro indicted on charges including murder, conspiracy to kill US nationals
Trump-backed housing bill clears House after GOP defies Senate pressure campaign
Makeup Mogul Walks Away from Hollywood, Donates Fortune to Become Catholic Priest: ‘Never Been Happier’
‘Trying to Break Me… Because I am a Christian’: Ex-Lawmaker Targeted for 10 Commandments Capitol Monument
Georgetown Cupcake keg tosser suspected in second brazen M Street attack caught on video
Fmr Dem Rep Barney Frank, sharp-tongued liberal trailblazer, Dodd-Frank co-author dies
The red states charging ahead with America’s wealth as rivals watch billions slip away
Media Melts Down Over More White Afrikaners Coming to America as Refugees and We All Know Why
Leftists Are Spiraling After Thomas Massie’s Loss and Conservatives Should Take That as a Good Sign
Kentucky voters deliver verdict on Thomas Massie and more top headlines
Leftists Beg College Athletes to Ditch SEC Schools in States with Redistricting
Costco Recalls Popular Item After Person Suffers Second-Degree Burns
MTG says GOP’s future ‘destroyed’ after Trump-backed primary challenger defeats Thomas Massie in primary
Trump admin accuses Hamas of backing Gaza flotilla, sanctions activist and Muslim Brotherhood networks
Trump roils Senate GOP amid struggles with immigration bill
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.
Cuban ex-President Raul Castro indicted on charges including murder, conspiracy to kill US nationals
Trump-backed housing bill clears House after GOP defies Senate pressure campaign
Makeup Mogul Walks Away from Hollywood, Donates Fortune to Become Catholic Priest: ‘Never Been Happier’
‘Trying to Break Me… Because I am a Christian’: Ex-Lawmaker Targeted for 10 Commandments Capitol Monument
Georgetown Cupcake keg tosser suspected in second brazen M Street attack caught on video
Fmr Dem Rep Barney Frank, sharp-tongued liberal trailblazer, Dodd-Frank co-author dies
The red states charging ahead with America’s wealth as rivals watch billions slip away
Media Melts Down Over More White Afrikaners Coming to America as Refugees and We All Know Why
Leftists Are Spiraling After Thomas Massie’s Loss and Conservatives Should Take That as a Good Sign
Kentucky voters deliver verdict on Thomas Massie and more top headlines
Leftists Beg College Athletes to Ditch SEC Schools in States with Redistricting
Costco Recalls Popular Item After Person Suffers Second-Degree Burns
MTG says GOP’s future ‘destroyed’ after Trump-backed primary challenger defeats Thomas Massie in primary
Trump admin accuses Hamas of backing Gaza flotilla, sanctions activist and Muslim Brotherhood networks
Trump roils Senate GOP amid struggles with immigration bill
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.
