Trade jitters again shaking Wall Street
Stocks closed broadly lower Wednesday, as investors turned anxious about the possibility the U.S. and China may not reach a trade deal before next year.
Technology stocks took the heaviest losses. Communication services and industrial stocks also were big losers. Banks fell as bond yields declined. Energy stocks notched the biggest gains as crude oil prices rebounded.
A published report suggested a “Phase 1” trade pact may not be completed this year as negotiators continue to wrestle over differences
Beijing is pressing Washington to agree to broader tariff rollbacks.
Investors have been hoping the world’s two biggest economies can make a deal before new and more damaging tariffs take effect Dec. 15. Those duties would cover smartphones, laptops and other consumer goods.
“If a deal is not going to get done before the end of the year, then all of a sudden this uncertainty comes back in around what’s going to happen around Dec. 15,” said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments.
The selling nudged the major U.S. stock indexes off their recent all-time highs.
The S&P 500 index dropped 11.72 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,108.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 112.93 points, or 0.4 percent, to 27,821.09.
The Nasdaq slid 43.93, or 0.5 percent, to 8,526.73. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks gave up 6.68 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,591.61.
Growing optimism among investors that the U.S. and China were making progress toward a limited trade deal helped pave the way for gains in the market in recent weeks.
That optimism dimmed Wedes. nesday as investors weighed the implications of more tariffs kicking in next month.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was prepared to raise tariffs on Chinese exports if the nations can’t reach an agreement.
Technology and communication services companies were among the biggest losers Wednesday. HP fell 2 percent and AT&T slid 2.2 percent.
Energy companies held up better than the rest of the market as oil prices climbed 3.4 percent. ConocoPhillips rose 3.8 percent.
Benchmark crude oil rose $1.90 to settle at $57.11 a barrel. Brent oil, the international standard, gained $1.49 to close at $62.40 a barrel.
Investors also had their eye on the latest batch of quarterly results from big retailers.
Target surged 14.1 percent after handily beating Wall Street’s thirdquarter earnings estimates. The retailer also raised its profit forecast for the year.
Lowe’s rose 3.9 percent after raising its profit forecast for the year following a solid third quarter. The home improvement retailer has been working to improve profit and sales to better compete with rival Home Depot.