US markets end volatile trading session in red on Friday

18 May 2019 Evaluate

The US markets ended volatile trading session in red territory on Friday, as trade-related jitters overshadowed strong economic data. The late-day sell-off weighted on financial markets roiled by two weeks of concern that escalating trade war will undermine global growth. A private report indicated that negotiations between the US and China appear to have stalled. The report said scheduling for the next round of negotiations is in flux because it is unclear what the two sides would discuss. As per the report, discussions regarding scheduling the next round of talks have not taken place since President Donald Trump signed an executive order ramping up scrutiny of Chinese telecom companies. Besides, President Donald Trump took steps toward calming nerves by postponing any tariffs on Japanese and European cars, while agreeing to end levies on Canadian steel and aluminum imports. But the status of talks with China remained unclear as investors headed into the weekend.

On the economic front, the University of Michigan released a report showing a substantial improvement in consumer sentiment in May, although the data was recorded mostly before trade negotiations with China collapsed. The preliminary report showed the consumer sentiment index surged up to 102.4 in May from 97.2 in April, reaching its highest level in fifteen years. Street had expected the index to inch up to 97.5. Meanwhile, the US and Canada on Friday said they reached a deal to end tariffs imposed by Washington on aluminum and steel products from Canada, while Canada will remove all retaliatory tariffs.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 98.68 points or 0.38 percent to 25764.00, Nasdaq fell 81.76 points or 1.04 percent to 7816.29 and S&P 500 was down by 16.79 points or 0.58 percent to 2859.53.

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