Escalating trade war pushes stocks to worst week of 2019

Damian J. Troise, The Associated Press
Published Thursday, May 9, 2019 11:56PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, May 10, 2019 11:10AM EDT

NEW YORK -- An escalating trade war between the U.S. and China pushed stocks lower for a fifth straight day Friday on Wall Street and put the market on track for its worst week of the year.

The U.S. pulled the trigger on higher tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods even as both sides continued to negotiate. President Donald Trump said in a tweet Friday morning that "there is absolutely no need to rush" on making a deal.

Technology and industrial stocks had some of the biggest declines as investors fled to lower-risk holdings liked utilities and real estate stocks. Several companies with substantial revenue in China fell. Apple, Micron, Boeing and Caterpillar all shed about 1%.

The higher tariffs from the U.S. and China's response that it would take "necessary countermeasures" rattled investors who had been hoping for a quick resolution to the dispute. Confidence in that outcome had eased investors concerns this year, along with a more patient Federal Reserve and solid economic data. It all added up to help push stocks to their hottest start to a year in decades.

The trade war has already stressed consumers and companies with higher costs on goods. The latest tariff increase extends 25% duties to a total of $250 billion of Chinese imports. Trump has also signalled that he might expand penalties to all Chinese goods shipped to the U.S.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell 0.8 per cent as of 10:27 a.m. The broad index is on track for its worst week of the year and has given back all of its gains from April. It's still up 13.6% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, or 202 points, to 25,624. The technology heavy Nasdaq fell 1%.

MANAGEMENT REBOOTING: Symantec plunged 17% after the CEO of the security software company resigned abruptly.

Greg Clark has been CEO since 2016. He will be immediately replaced on an interim basis by Richard S. Hill, a current member of the board and a former CEO of Novellus Systems.

The company gave no explanation for the abrupt change in leadership. It also reported weak revenue for the first quarter and gave investors a weak profit forecast for the current quarter.

WYNN LOSES: The casino operator fell 3.7% after its revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Wynn reported a decline in revenue from its key properties in the Chinese gambling haven of Macau.

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