US Stocks Fall As Trade War Fears Rise

New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Mar, 2018 ) :Wall Street stocks tumbled Tuesday on growing worries about a trade war as President Donald Trump replaced his Secretary of State and was reportedly planning new tariffs on China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent to 25,007.03. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.6 percent to 2,765.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped one percent, settling at 7,511.01. Stocks opened higher after benign US inflation data reassured investors the Federal Reserve was not likely to accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes this year.

But markets began retreating later in the day. "Wall Street is questioning the stability of the administration," said Sam Stovall of CFRA Research, adding that investors worry the Republicans could lose the midterm elections.

"Today, politics was more important than inflation.

" Trump sacked his top diplomat Rex Tillerson and named current CIA chief Mike Pompeo to succeed him, a worry to Wall Street analysts who viewed Tillerson as a fan of free markets and who fear Pompeo may take a harsher line on trade issues. Analysts also pointed to unease at reports that Trump is weighing a crackdown on China over alleged intellectual property theft.

An article in Politico said new tariffs could be announced as soon as next week. Financial stocks were weak, with Bank of America and Citigroup both losing about 1.5 percent. Large technology shares also fell.

Apple dropped one percent, Facebook 1.6 percent and Google parent Alphabet 2.3 percent. General Electric was the biggest loser in the Dow, sinking 4.4 percent after JPMorgan Chase lowered its price target on the industrial giant and said its financial outlook was worse than widely perceived.