Brighter spotlight on corporate earnings

potential for an intensifying trade dispute to undercut the United States stock market could become clearer this week when a host of multinational companies reports quarterly results that may provide a glimpse into the impact of those global tensions.

A broad trade war scaled up a list of worries for Corporate America and equity investors after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs last month on imports of steel and aluminium.

His comments and posts on Twitter about unfair behaviour by US trade partners have rattled the market, which has pulled back from record highs early this year.

China has responded with tariffs of its own, leading to fears about a full-blown trade war and injecting fresh volatility into a stock market that has been more jittery over the past two months.

Of 25 US companies seen by Credit Suisse as most exposed to a trade war, more than half will report their results in the coming week. They include Halliburton Co today, 3M Co and Texas Instruments Inc tomorrow, Boeing Co on Wednesday, Intel Corp on Thursday and Chevron Corp on Friday.

Overall, more than 180 companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index are due to report results this week. Some companies have already weighed in on trade tensions in the early stages of earnings season.

“Management has to walk a fine line between flapping their arms and lobbying against tariffs, and presenting themselves as vulnerable to tariffs,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Wealth Advisors in Chicago.

Of particular concern will be executives’ views about their exposure to China, the world’s No. 2 economy and an important market for many US companies.

“I’d like to know if things do deteriorate with China, how much it would affect them,” said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise in Boston.