Major US stock indexes finished trading in the red

Major US stock indexes fell moderately, as US President Trump shocked market participants by telling Twitter on weekends that the United States would increase $ 200 billion in tariffs on imported products from China. This caused investors to flee from risky assets.

“For 10 months, China paid US duties of 25% on high-tech goods worth $ 50 billion and 10% on other goods worth $ 200 billion. These payments partly explain our remarkable economic results.” The head of the White House wrote on Twitter on Sunday. He also added: “On Friday, 10% will rise to 25%. $ 325 billion in other goods that China sends us are not taxed yet, but they will soon be at a rate of 25%, because, according to him, the negotiations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China are moving at a “too slow” pace as the Chinese side is trying to revise the conditions.

On Monday, Donald Trump continued to put pressure on Beijing on Twitter, saying: “Over the years, the United States has been losing from $ 600 to $ 800 billion a year in trade. We are losing $ 500 billion with China. Sorry, but we are no longer going to do that! ”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the Chinese authorities are considering the possibility of canceling a new round of trade talks with the States scheduled for this week after Trump’s comments. However, official China said Monday that his delegation was still preparing to go to Washington, but did not mention whether Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, the lead negotiator from the PRC, would be in its composition as originally planned.

The US labor market data also had a slight impact on the course of trading. A report from the Conference Board showed that the US employment trends index, which is a collection of labor market indicators, improved slightly in April after registering a decline a month earlier. According to the data, the employment trends index rose to 110.79 points from 111.73 points in March (revised from 110.98). Compared to the same period in 2018, the index shows an increase of 2.3%. In the Conference Board reported that the increase in the index was caused by a positive contribution of 5 out of 8 components.

Almost all the components of DOW finished trading in the red (20 out of 30). The outsider was DowDuPont Inc. (DWDP; -3.31%). The growth leader was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH; + 3.51%).

Almost all sectors of the S & P recorded a decline. Growth was shown only by the conglomerate sector (+ 1.8%) and the health sector (+ 0.6%). The largest decline was shown by the industrial goods sector (-0.9%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 26,436.79 -68.16 -0.26%

S & P 500 2,932.47 -13.17 -0.45%

Nasdaq 100 8,123.29 -40.71 -0.50%