US markets end lower as tech takes brunt of trade tensions

21 May 2019 Evaluate

The US markets settled lower on Monday amid ongoing concerns about the escalating US-China trade dispute after Google suspended some of its business with Chinese tech giant Huawei. Google has cut Huawei off from business involving the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, complying with an order by President Donald Trump blocking the sale or transfer of US technology to Huawei. The blow to Huawei added to trade concerns sparked by last Friday's reports that the scheduling of the next round of US-China trade talks is in flux because it is unclear what the two sides would discuss. Besides, private report said that discussions regarding scheduling the next round of talks have not taken place since Trump signed an executive order ramping up scrutiny of Chinese telecom companies.

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s national activity index plunged to a negative 0.45 in April, down from an upwardly revised positive 0.05 in March and a negative 0.31 in February. A reading less than zero indicates below-trend economic growth. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said that he was not sure whether the central bank would move next to raise or lower interest rates, while saying he expects growth of 2.25% to 2.5% this year, a slowdown from last year’s levels.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 84.10 points or 0.33 percent to 25679.90, Nasdaq dropped 113.91 points or 1.46 percent to 7702.38 and S&P 500 was down by 19.30 points or 0.67 percent to 2840.23.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×