U.S. stock markets saw their worst day in 2019 on Monday as trade war concerns continued to worry investors and prompt selling. The NASDAQ saw the steepest declines, closing down 3.47 percent. The S&P 500 closed 2.98 percent lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 2.90 percent. All three major indexes are expected to decline further on Tuesday. As of the end of trading day on Monday, the S&P 500 has erased $1.4 trillion dollar of value from its stocks in the past four trading days. The Dow slumped 767 points, its sixth-worst daily decline ever.
U.S. President Donald Trump fanned inflammatory flames against China by accusing Beijing, via twitter, of currency manipulation, after China let the yuan hit its lowest level against the dollar in more than ten years on Monday, falling below the 7-per-dollar level. In the past, China has actively managed its currency to avoid such weakening.
Early Tuesday morning in Asia, China’s Commerce Ministry announced that it has stopped purchasing U.S. agricultural products, another nail in the coffin of the U.S-.=-Sino trade negotiations, and another reason for traders to worry about the state not just of the U.S. economy, but of the global economy. The Ministry also announced that it is considering imposing fresh tariffs on U.S. farm products which would create friction between President Trump and his agriculturally-dependent constituencies in advance of the 2020 election.
Bloodbath Continues in Asian Trade
Wall Street’s stock market slaughter continued into Tuesday morning’s Asian trading session, with all major benchmarks heading sharply lower in early trade. Australia’s ASX was down 2.40 percent as of 10:11 a.m. HK/SIN, leading the trend, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index trailing close behind, down 2.10 percent. The Shenzhen Composite eased 1.81 percent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 1.67 percent.
On the currency markets, the U.S. dollar was up 0.21 percent against the yen, trading at 106.16. The euro firmed against the greenback, up 0.21 percent to $1.1225, while the pound was up 0.06 percent against the dollar to $1.2148. The U.S. dollar also eased against the Canadian dollar, falling 0.16 percent to $1.3196.