Tempers flared as tensions grew even further between the US and China. President Trump actively shows support by signing legislation for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
As the markets closed lower on Tuesday and bond prices started to raise was a result from President Trump casting doubt over any type of trade deal agreement before 2019 ends. President Trump continued to explain that he could wait for the election in 2020 to decide on any type of trade deal with China.
Biggest market hit was S&P 500 with tech and industrial stocks taking the blow. Utilities and Real Estate was the winners of the past 3 days as investors wanted a more secure investment.
In the next 2 weeks, the US will start to feel the imposed taxes on goods coming from China, smartphones and laptops are scheduled to start mid-December.
China isn’t the only country under Trumps radar, earlier this week France got hit with $2.4bn worth tariffs in a retaliation to the French government taxing tech giants Amazon, Google and Facebook. Argentina and Brazil also have been mentioned in respects to steel and aluminum imports.
Traditionally December is known for the markets to be robust as black Friday and holiday season but with the early fears of recession in Q3 and soaring interest rates have kept the markets modest.
The tech sector is the hardest hit, one of the reasons for that is the reliance on supply chain fulfilment and sales within mainland China. Other indicating factors show that Gold rose $15.90 to $1,478.20 per ounce, silver rose 29 cents to $17.13 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.61 per pound. The US dollar fell to 108.57 Japanese yen from 108.98 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1082 from $1.1078.
As December rolls through, we still wait to see any agreements or even a start to a conclusion of these trade tariffs.
