Published 17:45 IST, September 3rd 2019
Global stocks lower after US - China trade jitters resurface
Global stocks are lower after US-China trade jitters resurface post tariff hike. Stock markets in Britain, Australia, Korea, Japan, India, etc have been hit.
- World News
- 4 min read
Global stock markets were mostly lower on September 3 amid revived jitters over U.S.-Chinese trade tension and wrangling by British lawmakers over whether to try to postpone leaving the European Union. Benchmarks in London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong declined. Shanghai closed lower. Tokyo was little changed.
The tariff hikes
Investor optimism about U.S.-Chinese talks this month aimed at ending a tariff war was shaken by a Bloomberg News report that trade envoys were struggling to agree on a schedule. The report is a reminder “of the tremendous gulf between the U.S. and China in reconciling their differences over trade, leaving the global economy hanging in the balance,” Han Tan of FXTM said in a report. Markets had reacted less strongly to last weekend’s U.S. and Chinese tariff hikes in a fight over trade and technology.
President Donald Trump has sounded optimistic about negotiations over China’s trade surplus and complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. But there is no indication either side is willing to break a deadlock in talks by offering concessions. On Sunday, the United States started charging a 15% tariff on about $112 billion of Chinese products. China responded by charging tariffs of 10% and 5% on a list of American goods.
U.S.-China economy is hit
With tariff hikes, Benchmark U.S. crude lost 74 cents to $54.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.61 on Monday to close at $55.10. Brent crude, used to price international oils, retreated 59 cents to $58.07 per barrel in London. It sank 69 cents the previous session to $58.66. The dollar retreated to 106.06 yen from Monday’s 106.22 yen. The euro declined to $1.0948 from $1.0969.
Britain's economic state of affairs post-Brexit and trade war
Britain’s Parliament was due to reconvene after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said he would call an early election if his opponents pass legislation that would block his plans to leave the EU by an Oct. 31 deadline. Opposition parties are challenging Johnson’s plan to withdraw from the European market of 500 million people even if the two sides haven’t agreed on terms for future trade and travel. In early trading, London’s FTSE 100 was off 4 points at 7,278.30 and Frankfurt’s DAX lost 0.4% to 11,908.80. France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.4% to 5,469.29. On Monday, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1% and the CAC 40 added 0.2%. The DAX was 0.1% higher.
Stocks low in the rest of the world
On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index was off 0.6% with trading due to resume after a three-day weekend. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7%. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.2% at 2,930.15 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was 5 points higher at 20,625.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 25,527.85. Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.2% to 1,965.69 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 1.5% to 6,573.40. India’s Sensex fell 1.6% to 36,731.51. Similarly, New Zealand and Singapore advanced while Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines retreated. Similarly, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its benchmark interest rate steady at 1% at its September board meeting. A bank statement cited risks to global growth from the U.S.-Chinese tariff war and uncertainty over Australian consumer spending.
Updated 18:14 IST, September 3rd 2019
