(The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: U.S. stocks declined Monday amid heightened anxiety over the U.S.-China trade spat and renewed concerns that the conflict could dent economic growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66 points, or 0.25%, to 26438, climbing from session lows after falling more than 450 points in early trading. The S&P 500 shed .45% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped .50%.
All 11 S&P 500 sectors dropped, led by declines in industrials, materials and technology-—three areas with heavy exposure to China. Nearly all of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials also fell.
Stock markets in Asia and Europe slid, oil prices declined and the Chinese yuan weakened after President Trump threatened to ramp up U.S. tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25%, up from the current 10%. That put a potential trade deal between the two countries in doubt ahead of a new round of talks set to begin this week in Washington.
Industrial shares, which have been susceptible to trade-induced volatility, came under pressure. Caterpillar, Boeing and Stanley Black & Decker shed at least 1.5% each.
Meanwhile, shares of semiconductor companies, which have been caught in the crosshairs of the trade dispute, were battered Monday, with stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology and Nvidia each losing at least 2.7% a piece. Semiconductor shares are vulnerable to a trade war because China is a strong driver for the chip-equipment sector.
Apple dropped 2.3% while Facebook and Netflix fell 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
Monday’s drops follow months of relative calm, after a turbulent 2018 left investors scarred. Stocks, bonds and credit markets rose in 2019, with U.S. equities recently touching all-time highs. The S&P 500 has advanced 16% this year, driven by a more cautious monetary-policy stance from the Federal Reserve. Market observers had also said optimism about U.S.-China trade talks helped underpin that climb.
Oil prices trimmed most of their sharp losses earlier in the session, with Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, trading 0.1% higher to $70.90 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate down 0.1% to $61.86 a barrel.
Investors edged into safe assets, with gold adding 0.1% to $1280.20 a troy ounce, and the Japanese yen adding 0.2% against the greenback.
The WSJ dollar index, which tracks the currency against a basket of 16 of its peers, added 0.2%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.480% from 2.531% Friday. Yields move inversely to prices.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped more than 3% while Europe’s pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.9%.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 5.6%, while its counterpart in Shenzhen tumbled 7.4%, both registering their biggest single-day declines since 2016.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-06/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-sink-as-threat-of-full-blown-trade-war-re-emerges-2019-05-06/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-markets-tumble-after-trumps-threat-to-raise-tariffs-on-china-11557108903?mod=hp_lead_pos1Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-05/yuan-sinks-with-u-s-index-futures-on-tariff-risk-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stock-market-resilient-despite-china-trade-uncertainty/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/05/traders-brace-for-sharp-sell-off-on-trumps-tariff-threat.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-falls-after-trumps-china-tariff-threat-idUSKCN1SC0UDU.K. (Closed):
Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-fall-in-wake-of-trump-threat-of-china-tariffs-idUSKCN1SC0IZAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-financial-market-slump-highlights-sensitivity-to-trumps-trade-threats-in-one-chart-2019-05-06/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/06/us-bonds-trader-digest-new-us-tariffs-on-china.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/06/forex-market-trump-tariff-threats-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/06/oil-market-trump-tariff-threats-us-output-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/06/gold-market-trump-tariff-threats-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
