Stocks opened lower on Friday after China said it will slap new tariffs on U.S. goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened Friday down 44.79 points to 26,207.45
The S&P 500 surrendered 9.27 points to 2,913.68
The NASDAQ dumped 36.53 points to 7,954.85
Losses were muted slightly as traders awaited a speech from the Federal Reserve chief on monetary policy.
Jerome Powell was expected to address an audience of policymakers and economists at 10 a.m. ET. He faces the tough challenge of presenting a unified voice on Fed policy from the most divided U.S. central bank in years.
Overseas, China will implement new tariffs on another $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, including autos. The tariffs will range between 5% and 10% and will be implemented in two batches on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.
This is the latest escalation in the trade war that has been going on since last year. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will impose tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. The administration then said some of those tariffs would be delayed.
Shares of General Motors demurred 1.7%, and Ford Motor fell by 2.1%, respectively. Fiat Chrysler slid 1.4% along with Tesla.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 1.59% from Thursday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices wilted $1.47 to $53.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $6.60 to $1,515.10 U.S. an ounce.
