US markets end lower as US-China trade war intensifies

24 Aug 2019 Evaluate

The US markets ended deeply in red on Friday on renewed US-China trade concerns after a series of threatening comments from President Donald Trump. Trump claimed the US does not need China and would be far better off without them and subsequently ordered American companies to immediately start looking for an alternative to China. He said the vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must stop. The comments from Trump came after the Chinese Finance Ministry announced plans to impose new tariffs on $75 billion worth of US imports. The new levies include 5 percent tariffs on US soybeans and crude oil imports, which are scheduled to take effect on September 1st. The move by China was in response to Trump's plan to impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

On the economic front, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered his highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday, reiterating the Fed will act as appropriate to sustain the US economic expansion. Powell described the three weeks since the Fed decided to lower interest rates by 25 basis points at its July meeting as eventful. The Fed Chief cited President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs on Chinese imports as well as further signs of a global economic slowdown, notably in Germany and China. Powell also pointed to several geopolitical events, including the growing possibility of a hard Brexit, rising tensions in Hong Kong, and the dissolution of the Italian government. As a result of the subsequent uncertainty, Powell said ‘the Fed is carefully watching developments as we assess their implications for the US outlook and the path of monetary policy.’

Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 623.34 points or 2.37 percent to 25628.90, Nasdaq fell 239.62 points or 3.00 percent to 7751.77 and S&P 500 was down by 75.84 points or 2.59 percent to 2847.11.

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

×