Stocks – China's Currency Tumble Batters U.S. and Global Stocks
Investing.com
Published Aug 05, 2019 01:26PM ET
Updated Aug 05, 2019 04:14PM ET
Investing.com - Stocks were suffering their worst one-day losses since February 2018 on Monday after China allowed the yuan to sink in apparent retaliation against U.S. threats to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods imported into the United States.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials each tumbled 3.2%. The Nasdaq Composite plunged nearly 4%. Markets around the world also slumped as the trade war flared up again.
The yuan USD/CNY was allowed to weaken to more than 7 yuan per dollar, a level not seen in at least 10 years The effect is to make Chinese goods cheaper against U.S. goods and dampen U.S. exports to China.
The Trump Administration and China's government have been waging a furious game of tariffs and counter-tariffs as Trump seeks to rebalance the trade relationship between the countries. After a meeting between Chinese and U.S. officials last week didn't go well, Trump ordered the tariffs boosted.
China, aggressively asserting a leadership role in global trade matters, has said it won't be bullied.
All 30 Dow stocks were lower, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) the worst performer, down more than 5.4%. The plunge subtracted 75 points from the Dow. Losses in Visa (NYSE:V) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) subtracted a combined 120 points from the Dow, which was off 960 points at 3:20 PM ET (19:20 GMT).
Among the few gainers Monday were gun makers and Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN). Gun stocks rose in the belief that gun regulations imposed after the El Paso and Dayton shootings would boost firearms sales.
Interest rates also fell around the world. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.728% from Friday's 1.855%. All of Germany's sovereign debt is yielding negative returns for the first time.
Rates have been falling as global business and leaders worry about economic slowdowns. HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) ousted its CEO and said it would be cutting some 4,000 jobs over the next year.
In addition, crude oil prices fell, with Brent futures, the global benchmark, down $1.94 to $59.97 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.87 or 3% to $60.
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