U.S. stocks tumbled the most in six weeks and Treasurys rallied as investors shifted focus from the Fed to the threat of an escalating trade war with China that has the potential to disrupt global growth.
The benchmark S&P 500 slumped the most since early February and the Dow lost more than 700 points after President Trump ordered tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese goods. The 10-year Treasury yield slid toward 2.8% and gold advanced with the yen as investors sought safe havens. The dollar rebounded.
“The market doesn’t like trade wars, the market doesn’t like that the Fed is adamant about raising rates,” said Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI Investments. “Yes the economy has been pretty strong, the labor market has less slack, but there’s nothing to really get fired up about and try to normalize rates to a level way above where we are.”
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As advisors, we are supposed to be the calm in the storm for our clients — let’s make sure our messaging does that quickly and effectively.
February 5 -
Getting clients to understand how volatility is an essential part of investing isn’t easy, but is even harder when stocks had been in the midst of an uninterrupted bull run.
February 5 -
It’s time to broaden our understanding — and assessment — of risk composure.
February 2
The threat that a tit-for-tat trade spat with China will erupt and hamper global growth has investors on edge a day after the Fed sought to reassure markets that it’s in no hurry to raise rates even as it lifted growth projections for the world’s largest economy. Trump’s first trade action directly aimed at China would come as policy makers including IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warn of a global trade conflict that could undermine the broadest world recovery in years.
While outpacing the S&P 500, the price tag is higher — the average expense ratio is more than 1%.
Stocks were also hit when John Dowd resigned as Trump’s lead attorney countering Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe as the inquiry into possible collusion in the 2016 election intensifies.
Facebook helped pace a decline in the tech sector, falling as much as 2.5% before paring losses. This week’s
