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Business & Economy

Business & Economy

The Big Story

Stocks slide as Trump’s trade war spooks Wall Street

Stocks slid Thursday as President Trump’s escalating trade war with China and concerns about its economic implications continued to rattle Wall Street.

© AP

All three major stock indexes lost a significant portion of their gains from a Wednesday rally, which came in the wake of Trump’s decision to shift the focus of his sweeping tariff plans.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a loss of more than 1,000 points Thursday, falling 2.5 percent after rising nearly 3,000 points the previous day.
• The S&P 500 index sunk 3.5 percent lower, and the Nasdaq composite fell 4 percent after rising roughly 12 percent Wednesday.

Trump’s Wednesday decision to delay and reduce import taxes on goods from dozens of countries brought immediate relief to the stock market after days of steep declines.

The announcement also brought some brief stability to the bond market, which Trump said had spooked him out of his previous tariff plans.

But both stocks and bonds reversed much of their progress Thursday as Trump pushed tariffs on Chinese goods even higher, raising the stakes of his battle with Beijing and the potential cost for Americans.

Trump said Thursday he would be boosting the “reciprocal” tariff rate on Chinese goods to 125 percent, bringing the overall tax rate on some Chinese products to an exorbitant 145 percent.

Steep tariffs on Chinese goods are likely to spike the prices of consumer electronics, clothing and other key U.S. consumer goods, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. products could pose a serious hit to American farmers.

Some experts suggest Trump’s tariffs are high enough to completely halt U.S.-China trade.

Read more here from The Hill's Sylvan Lane.

Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, I'm Aris Folley — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

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