(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. stock declines deepened Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 500 points, as investors reacted to a growing likelihood that the White House will follow through on threats to enact tariffs on Chinese goods later this week.
The latest volatile reaction to the threats hit shares of trade-exposed companies, including chip makers and retailers that rely on sales from China, and concerns that new tariffs could weaken demand for oil sent energy prices and companies lower.
The Dow industrials dropped nearly 473 points, or 1.79%, to 25965, while the S&P 500 fell 1.65% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.96%.
Here are the companies dragging down the blue-chip benchmark by the most:
Dow component Weight on the index
Boeing Co. BA, -4.08% 102 points
Apple Inc. AAPL, -3.37% 46 points
Home Depot Inc. HD, -3.05% 39 points
United Technologies UTX, -3.62% 34 points
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, -2.44% 29 points
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB was down over 3%.
Tech companies were among the biggest laggards, as they stand to be hurt by weakened sales in China, a country in which they do much of their business. Companies that manufacture products in China also stand to see their costs rise.
Semiconductor companies in particular stand to lose a lot from a disappointing trade agreement, as China is a strong driver for the chip-equipment sector. Not only is China where many chips are manufactured, its citizens also drive demand for the smartphones, computers and cars in which chips are used. Shares of Nvidia fell 3.6% in recent trading, while Intel shares dropped 2.2%.
U.S.-traded crude oil fell 1.8% to $61.08 a barrel, though prices were likely also supported by tensions in the Middle East that risked limiting oil supply.
The declines follow a surprise pair of tweets by President Donald Trump on Sunday announcing an increase in tariffs on Chinese goods set to come into force Friday. Other White House officials echoed Mr. Trump’s threats late on Monday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said his side had seen “an erosion in commitments by China” in recent days and declared tariffs on Chinese imports would rise on Friday as Mr. Trump had warned.
The key question for investors was whether U.S. threats marked a serious escalation in trade tensions or whether it was intended to secure more concessions from China.
The threats came after months of calm and mostly positive headlines emerging from the U.S.-China trade talks. The announcement prompted sharp declines for markets across the globe, and traders and analysts said they expect lots of swings in stocks in the next several trading sessions.
In Asia, indexes performed better after China’s Commerce Ministry said Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington to continue trade talks on Thursday and Friday. The move comes after initial reports suggested the talks could be delayed or canceled altogether.
The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% while the Hang Seng gained 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.5%, however, as it played catch-up with other indexes after reopening following an extended period of holiday closures.
The dollar was largely flat, while U.S. government bond prices rose slightly. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was at 2.480% after settling at 2.498%. Bond yields and prices move inversely
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-07/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-lower-as-trade-tensions-stay-in-the-spotlight-2019-05-07/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-markets-cautious-after-trade-tensions-buffet-stocks-11557216793?mod=hp_lead_pos1Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-06/u-s-futures-yuan-fall-as-tariffs-to-go-ahead-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/the-big-picture/stock-market-sells-off-key-signals-next/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/07/us-stock-market-us-china-trade-tensions-remain-in-focus.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-extends-fall-as-u-s-china-trade-worries-mount-idUSKCN1SD16TU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/u-s-china-trade-concerns-weigh-on-ftse-100-idUKKCN1SD0ONEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-slide-volatility-jumps-on-growth-and-trade-fears-idUSKCN1SD0O7Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mixed-as-traders-weigh-us-china-trade-dispute-2019-05-06/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/07/us-bonds-investors-monitor-uschina-trade.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/07/forex-market-us-china-trade-tariff-threats-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/07/oil-market-us-china-trade-war-sanctions-on-iran-venezuela-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/07/gold-market-trump-tariff-threats-us-china-trade-tensions-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 
