Stocks plunged on Friday after President Donald Trump ordered in a series of tweets that U.S. manufacturers find alternatives to their operations in China. Apple led the way lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 623.34 points, or 2.4%, to end the week at 25,628.90. The losses brought the Dow’s decline for August to more than 4%.
The S&P 500 surrendered 75.84 points, or 2.6%, to 2,847.11
The NASDAQ dumped 239.62 points, or 3%, to 7,751.77.
The major indexes also posted weekly losses for the fourth straight time. The Dow dropped about 1% this week while the S&P 500 pulled back 1.4%. The NASDAQ lost 1.8%.
Apple shares dropped 4.6%. Elsewhere, Nvidia and Broadcom both fell more than 5%. Caterpillar shares, meanwhile, pulled back 3.3%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a speech from an annual central banking symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
In it he said the Fed will do what it can to sustain the current economic expansion. "Our challenge now is to do what monetary policy can do to sustain the expansion so that the benefits of the strong jobs market extend to more of those still left behind, and so that inflation is centered firmly around 2%."
Trump tweeted on Friday: “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing..your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.”
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, 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.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.53% from Thursday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices lost $1.45 to $53.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $29.60 to $1,538.10 U.S. an ounce.
