NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks finished in mixed fashion Monday, with the Nasdaq pushing to a fresh record but the Dow and S&P 500 both falling on revived fears of a trade war.
Analysts pointed to sharpening rhetoric among different parties as a factor, with US stocks weakening after a solid open.
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said the trading bloc would “stand up to bullies” after US President Donald Trump threatened to tax German cars if the European Union did not lower barriers to US products.
Trump provoked the Europeans still further in a tweet on Monday morning saying US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would speak with the EU side “about eliminating the large tariffs and barriers they use against the USA.”
“Now, when we start to hear about possible retaliation, it becomes a concern again,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, told AFP.
“It’s back to fear of a policy mistake on trading turning into a trade war.”
The trade war worries cut into some of the optimism following Friday’s strong US jobs report and over the announcement of a surprise summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Nasdaq finished up 0.4 percent at a second straight record, but both the Dow and S&P 500 ended in the red.
Stocks were mixed elsewhere, with London and Paris little changed, but Frankfurt adding 0.6 percent after energy giant E.ON announced plans to take over Innogy, the renewables subsidiary of competitor RWE, in a deal valued at around 20 billion euros.
The deal fueled a rally of shares in the companies involved, with E.ON shares up by more than four percent in closing trade, and RWE stock just over nine percent higher.
Equity markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong both jumped nearly two percent following Friday’s US jobs report.
The closely watched monthly report showed stronger-than-expected US jobs growth in February and moderating wage growth compared with the January report, mitigating concerns the Federal Reserve could speed its pace of interest rate hikes.
“The best of both worlds for equity markets, with the economy in full swing but nary a sign of wage inflation,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA.
However, analysts cautioned that the Fed could reemerge as a worry this week if key US data releases show big increases in inflation.
– Key figures around 2040 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,178.61 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,783.02 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 7,588.32 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,214.76 points (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.6 percent at 12,418.39 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 5,276.71 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,429.48 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 21,824.03 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 1.9 percent at 31,594.33 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2335 from $1.2307 at 2200 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3905 from $1.3850
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 106.40 yen from 106.82 yen
Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN 54 cents at $64.95 per barrel
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 68 cents at $61.36 per barrel
Source: Brecorder.com
