Global stocks slid yesterday as investors focused on an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies.
Trade fears also pushed US long-dated Treasury debt yields lower. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, starting on July 6. China said it would retaliate immediately by suspending previous trade agreements with Mr Trump’s administration and slapping duties on American exports, including crude oil.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, was last down 0.5 per cent, after falling to its lowest point since June 1.
“The trade war is definitely on the front burner right now, and will continue to be in the absence of news catalysts and unless something substantially changes,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, B. Riley FBR in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.58 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 24,937.9, the S&P 500 lost 6.53 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 2,773.13 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.06 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 7,747.43.
On top of trade, a potentially destabilising vote in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition partner over a migration plan weighed on the euro and put further pressure on European shares.
Germany’s DAX was down 1.3 per cent while France’s CAC 40 declined 1 per cent.
Crude oil futures reversed course and turned positive.
US crude rose 0.23 per cent to $65.21 per barrel after earlier hitting a two-month low of $63.59 and Brent was last at $74.68, up 1.69 per cent after falling to a six-week low of $72.45.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is de facto led by Saudi Arabia, is due to meet in Vienna on June 22 to decide production policy. Opec and some allies including Russia have been restricting output since the start of 2017.
US 10- and 30-year Treasury yields fell for a third consecutive session in generally thin volume, while those on two-year notes were steady, underscoring the Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy.
Ten-year notes last rose 3/32 in price to yield 2.915 per cent, from 2.924 per cent late on Friday while the 30-year bond last fell 1/32 in price to yield 3.0481 percent, from 3.047 per cent late Friday.
The immediate fallout from the dispute was limited in currencies although the escalation appeared to encourage some risk aversion as the safe-haven Japanese yen recovered from three-week lows against the dollar.
Global trade anxiety spurred demand for the yen and the Swiss franc, while the euro remained under pressure due to concern about the dispute in Germany’s governing coalition and about the European Central Bank’s plan to hold interest rates into 2019.