The battered US stock market enters the week’s final trading session with little hope of patching its previous-day wounds. Rather, trade war pessimism looks poised to deal further blows to the Dow and its peers, which are currently steeling themselves for major opening bell losses. The mood is slightly more positive in the cryptocurrency market where the bitcoin price has made a slight recovery.
As of 8:55 am ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had declined 97 points or 0.39 percent, implying an opening bell drop of 102.53 points. Dow futures had traded lower earlier in the day but trended up ahead of the market open. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures also traded in the red, with the former down 0.44 percent and the latter losing 0.7 percent.
On Thursday, the stock market took steep losses following several reports that suggested the United States and China would not arrive at a new trade agreement before hefty tariffs kick in at the beginning of March. The Dow ended the day at 25,169.53, down 220.77 points or 0.87 percent after trading more than 350 points in the red earlier in the day. The S&P 500 declined by 0.94 percent, while the Nasdaq plunged by 1.18 percent.
US-CHINA TRADE WAR RATTLES STOCK MARKET:
On Friday, the US-China trade war continued to rattle the pre-bell futures markets. Most troubling was that US President Donald Trump confirmed that he would not meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the trade deal deadline on March 1.
Previously, Trump said he would not sign a deal until he and Xi had ironed out several “difficult” sticking points between the two countries. Instead, Trump will focus his attention on preparing for a second summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, which will take place from February 27-28.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US and China haven’t even compiled a draft agreement that outlines areas of agreement and disagreement, despite the fact that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are just days away from heading to China for a new round of negotiations.
Given the near-constant stream of White House optimism regarding the trade war, it appears the stock market had already priced in an amicable conclusion that now seems less likely to materialize — at least before the new tariffs take effect, anyway.