US markets closed lower on rising fears of trade war

15 Mar 2018 Evaluate

The US markets closed lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow industrials closing down for a third session as fears of a potential trade war resurfaced after President Donald Trump announced that his administration will seek to trim the US’s trade deficit with China by $100 billion via tariffs. In addition, Larry Kudlow, the incoming director of the White House national economic council, said that China has earned a tough response from the United States and other countries on trade, even though he has previously criticized blanket tariffs. Kudlow added that a strong and stable dollar was important for US economic health and that he had no reason to believe Trump disagreed. Separately, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed that the US economy is on track to expand at a 1.9 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, a slower rate than previously estimated, following February’s data on domestic retail sales and consumer prices. The regional Fed reduced its projection on personal consumption expenditure growth in the first three months of 2018 to 1.4 percent from 2.2 percent.

On the economy front, sales at US retailers fell in February for the third month in a row - the first time that’s happened since 2012 - but the declines were small and unlikely a sign of trouble for the broader economy. The monthly decline was 0.1%. Sales rose 0.3% last month if autos and gas are stripped out, however. The decline in retail sales last month was largely concentrated in auto dealers, gas stations and traditional department stores. Sales at auto dealers fell 0.9% for the second month in a row as a post-hurricane spurt in the fall faded away. Separately, US wholesale prices rose a mild 0.2% in February, the latest sign that inflation has throttled back after flaring up in early 2018. The 12-month rate of wholesale inflation edged up to 2.8%, but it’s still below a recent peak of 3.1%. The cost of services such as lodging, passenger flights and telecommunications rose in February to account for most of the increase in PPI. The wholesale price of services rose 0.3%. Prices of wholesale goods fell 0.1%, however. The cost of energy and food both declined. Wholesale inflation rose a stronger 0.4% in February if the volatile categories of energy, food and trade margins are stripped out.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 248.91 points or 1.00 percent to 24,758.12, Nasdaq dropped 14.201 points or 0.19 percent to 7,496.81, while the S&P 500 was down by 15.83 points or 0.57 percent to 2,749.48.

Create stable, long-term investment portfolio with strong, consistent stocks.

Start Research-backed Investing ...Now. Subscribe to Sapphire

About MoneyWorks4Me

MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.

Our Vision

To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.

What Makes MoneyWorks4Me Different

Fiduciary-first advisory model.
As SEBI-registered IAs, we are legally and ethically bound to act in the best interests of our clients. We do not sell or distribute any financial products. This ensures our guidance is 100% unbiased and conflict-free.
Deep fundamental research + robust valuation discipline.
Built on more than 15 years of equity research, our framework combines quality assessment, intrinsic value estimation, and a sensible margin-of-safety approach.
Process—not predictions.
We don’t rely on guesswork or market timing. Instead, we focus on asset allocation, risk management, and long-term compounding.
Technology + Human Intelligence.
We believe a combination of both is essential for investing success. We constantly innovate and upgrade in-house tools, financial X-rays, and portfolio analytics so that our team of analysts and advisors are equipped with the best.
Partner with Clients.
We follow a DIWM (Do-It-With-Me) approach where we partner clients in setting goals, financial planning, educating on our investing process and share decision-enabling resources transparently with our clients who retain control on execution.

Our Approach: Ensuring compounding work its magic on client portfolio.

MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through:

Investing in stocks, mutual funds, debt, and gold
Quality-at-Reasonable-Price way of investing in stocks
Constructing Direct Stock Portfolios with Core, Booster, and Amplifier stocks
A Mutual Fund Portfolio that delivers consistent out-performance and meaningful diversification (low overlap)
Periodic review and rebalancing
Clear Buy-Sell-Hold, and Position-sizing frameworks

Name of the IA registered with SEBI:	The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.
Logo:
Trade/Brand Name of IA:	MoneyWorks4Me Investment Advisers
Brand Logo:
SEBI Registration Number:	INA000013323 Validity – May 16, 2019 – Perpetual
Registration:	Non-Individual
BSE Enlistment No:	1187
Address:	B-101, Signet Corner Building, Balewadi Phata, Baner, Pune, Maharashtra 411045
Compliance officer Details:	Name: Shrikant Jagtap Email: shrikant.jagtap@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +919860359463 Address: Same as IA
Grievance Officer Details:	Name: Mukta Vaze Email: mukta.vaze@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 98609 19463 Address: Same as IA
Principal Officer Details:	Name: Atharva Bhide Email: atharva.bhide@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 91758 99463 Address: Same as IA
Standard Warning:	Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
Disclaimer:	Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with exchange and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.