U.S. Stocks Poised for Weekly Losses as Trade Tensions Heat Up
June 22 2018 - 4:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Riva Gold and Akane Otani
-- Crude oil rises after OPEC deal
-- Dow rises after eight straight losses
-- Biggest weekly outflows from EM equities since 2016
The Dow Jones Industrial Average headed toward its biggest
one-week slide since March as escalating tariff tensions drove
investors out of companies they fear could suffer under tighter
trade conditions.
Stocks wobbled throughout the week, with shares of industrial
firms, agricultural companies and auto makers sliding as investors
feared global trading relations were becoming increasingly
fractured.
President Donald Trump asked his administration Monday to
identify an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods that would be
penalized with tariffs. He then threatened Friday to impose a 20%
tariff on European cars after the European Union began imposing
duties on U.S. products ranging from bourbon whiskey to
Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
The moves contributed to unease among investors, who worry that
such fractious approaches could hinder global growth at a time when
many already believe that economic momentum is fading.
The Dow industrials fell eight straight sessions through
Thursday -- notching its longest streak of declines in more than a
year. As investors broadly shed risk, investors withdrew the
biggest weekly amount from emerging-market equities, financials and
investment-grade bond funds since 2016, according to Bank of
America Merrill Lynch.
"We're starting to see some corporate impact to some of the
rhetoric coming out of Washington," said Barbara Reinhard, head of
asset allocation at Voya Investment Management. "Potentially
targeting the auto sector has a far greater economic impact than
anything that has been done so far."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 175 points, or 0.7%, to
24636 Friday but was on course for a 1.8% weekly loss. The S&P
500 added 0.4% for the day while the Nasdaq Composite edged down
0.1%.
Stocks got a boost Friday from energy shares, although they
weren't enough to offset broad declines throughout the week from
other sectors.
Shares of Chevron and Exxon Mobil led gains in the Dow, rising
2.2% and 2.1%, respectively, after members of the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to a deal to join other
big producers in boosting oil production by about 600,000 barrels a
day.
The move came as a relief to investors who had been expecting
the cartel to decide to boost output even further, sending U.S.
crude for August delivery up 4.6% to $68.58 a barrel.
Industrial shares in the S&P 500 rose Friday but remained on
track for weekly losses, with Caterpillar down 6.4% and Boeing
losing 5.2% over five sessions.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.1% but fell 1.1% for the
week, weighed down by shares of European auto makers.
The auto sector had taken a hit after German auto maker Daimler
issued an unexpected profit warning Wednesday saying Chinese
retaliatory import duties on vehicles built in the U.S. would hurt
sales and earnings.
Meanwhile, the dollar came under pressure as European currencies
strengthened. The euro was up 0.5% against the dollar after data
showed business activity in the eurozone picked up for the first
month in five.
"Politically, Europe is in a trickier spot than it has been for
a while, but flash estimates tell us the first-quarter slowdown was
probably somewhat of a temporary blip," said Tim Graf, head of
macro strategy for EMEA at State Street Global Markets.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.8% Friday and 1.5% for the
week, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 4.4%, its worst
week since February.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and Akane Otani at
akane.otani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 22, 2018 15:48 ET (19:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.