WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving modestly higher early in the session, stocks have come under pressure over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages have all moved to the downside, adding to the losses posted in the previous session.
In recent trading, the major averages have fallen to new lows for the session. The Nasdaq is down 431.12 points or 1.9 percent at 22,593.50, the S&P 500 is down 84.10 points or 1.3 percent at 6,651.01 and the Dow is down 364.63 points or 0.8 percent at 45,993.79.
Stocks moved sharply lower after President Donald Trump threatened to retaliate against China's expansion of export controls on rare earths.
Trump accused China of 'becoming very hostile' in a post on social media platform Truth Social and threatened a 'massive increase' in tariffs on Chinese products coming into the U.S.
In the post, Trump also said he would no longer meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea, because 'now there seems to be no reason to do so.'
Trump's post had raised concerns about an escalation of the trade war between U.S. and China and the potential impact on the global economy.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the University of Michigan this morning showed its reading on U.S. consumer sentiment was virtually unchanged in the month of October.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index edged down to 55.0 in October from 55.1 in September. Economists had expected the index to slip to 54.2.
On the inflation front, the University of Michigan said year-ahead inflation expectations ebbed to 4.6 percent in October from 4.7 percent in September. Long-run inflation expectations held steady at 3.7 percent.
Sector News
Trump's post has led to substantial weakness among computer hardware and semiconductor stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 3.9 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Oil service stocks have also moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 3.2 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a month.
Networking, brokerage and biotechnology stocks have also shown significant moved to the downside, while gold stocks are bucking the downtrend amid a rebound by the price of the precious metal
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have surged in reaction to Trump's threats against China. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 8.3 basis points at 4.065 percent.
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