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.
Israel’s Arab parties choose between ‘bad and even worse’ as they back Gadi Eisenkot over Netanyahu to form government
Ten-term Republican congressman loses to Shannon Taylor in Virginia’s 1st District
LePage’s Maine House race heads to ranked-choice voting
Breaking: UK Court Convicts Russell Brand of Rape, Star is Headed to Prison
Harmeet Dhillon resigns as Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights: sources
Alito reiterates he’s not retiring, is committed through end of current Supreme Court term
Body Language Expert Watched El-Sayed’s Smiley Victory Speech, Suggests Revenge Lurked Underneath
Khanna touts new draft committee for likely 2028 presidential bid: ‘I’m honored’
Watch: El-Sayed Supporters Celebrate Win with a Chant That Reveals Their True Priorities
Republican AGs stand ready as ‘last line of defense’ against leftist policies after dismal midterms for party
Watch: CNN Anchor Slips Up and Makes a Telling Admission While Gleefully Reporting Midterm Results
Ted Cruz delivers scathing assessment after far-left Dems sweep midterms and more top headlines
White House official details what gets Trump’s attention in intelligence briefings
Democrats already recruiting oversight staff as left-leaning law firms gear up for Trump investigations
17 years after Fort Hood massacre, victims’ families grapple with gunman’s looming execution
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.
Israel’s Arab parties choose between ‘bad and even worse’ as they back Gadi Eisenkot over Netanyahu to form government
Ten-term Republican congressman loses to Shannon Taylor in Virginia’s 1st District
LePage’s Maine House race heads to ranked-choice voting
Breaking: UK Court Convicts Russell Brand of Rape, Star is Headed to Prison
Harmeet Dhillon resigns as Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights: sources
Alito reiterates he’s not retiring, is committed through end of current Supreme Court term
Body Language Expert Watched El-Sayed’s Smiley Victory Speech, Suggests Revenge Lurked Underneath
Khanna touts new draft committee for likely 2028 presidential bid: ‘I’m honored’
Watch: El-Sayed Supporters Celebrate Win with a Chant That Reveals Their True Priorities
Republican AGs stand ready as ‘last line of defense’ against leftist policies after dismal midterms for party
Watch: CNN Anchor Slips Up and Makes a Telling Admission While Gleefully Reporting Midterm Results
Ted Cruz delivers scathing assessment after far-left Dems sweep midterms and more top headlines
White House official details what gets Trump’s attention in intelligence briefings
Democrats already recruiting oversight staff as left-leaning law firms gear up for Trump investigations
17 years after Fort Hood massacre, victims’ families grapple with gunman’s looming execution
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.
