Global markets cool as trade wars heat up

Major stock indices from around the world are down this week as the Trump administration continues to push the envelope on tariffs and trade.    Stock markets around the world fell this week as tensions over tariffs and trade weighed on Wall Street investors.
   In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — generally referred to as “the Dow” — ended the day on Thursday at 24,217.85, down 1.5 percent from close of trading June 22. The Nasdaq likewise slipped 2.4 percent to 7,504.46, while the S&P 500 declined 1.4 percent to 2,716.51.
   And the Dow Jones Transportation Average — a U.S. stock market index that calculates the running average of the share prices of 20 major shipping companies and a bellwether for the industry as a whole — suffered an even larger decline, falling 4.3 percent from last Friday to close at 10,308.17 Thursday.
   European stocks also took a hit after the European Union officially adopted tariffs on a list of U.S. products worth 2.8 billion euros (U.S. $3.27 billion) that includes steel and aluminum products, as well as a wide range of agricultural goods like corn, whiskey and cigarettes, in response to the Trump administration’s import tariffs on steel and aluminum.
   London’s benchmark index, the FTSE 100, fared better than its German and French counterparts, falling just 0.9 percent from the June 22 close to 7,682.30 on Thursday. The German DAX, meanwhile, dropped 3.2 percent to a reading of 12,177.23 as of close of trading Thursday, while the Paris CAC 40 fell 2.1 percent to 5,275.64 during the same period.
    In China, the Shanghai SSE Composite fell 3.5 percent from close of trading June 22 to close at 2,787.05 Thursday, after President Trump threatened tariffs of up to $450 billion annually against Chinese products if trade actions between the two countries continue to escalate.
   Hong Kong’s Hang Sheng likewise dipped 3 percent to close at 28,497.32 on Thursday, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 fared much better, losing only 0.3 percent to close at 22,282.26.
   However, Kevin Matras, executive vice president of Zacks Investment Research, downplayed the selloff in U.S. markets as a temporary bump in the road, especially given that the some of the damage was reversed during Thursday’s trading session.
   “Much better day in the market yesterday with all of the major indexes in the green,” he wrote in an advisory note. “The tech-heavy Nasdaq saw the biggest gains after it was earlier reported that the foreign investment restrictions wouldn’t be as strict as had been feared. Tech breathed a sigh of relief as did the rest of the market.
   “Stocks appear ready to turn back up in a much bigger way, very soon,” said Matras. “And traders are gearing up for what many believe will be a fantastic second half.”