Wall Street began the month of march, down (Photo SPENCER PLATT. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA)
Wall Street ended sharply down on Thursday, concerned about the potential consequences of trade between the United States and the rest of the world following the announcement by Donald Trump of heavy taxes on the imports of aluminum and steel.
According to the final results at the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.68%, or 420,22 points to 24.608,98 points.
The Nasdaq lost 1.27 per cent, or 92,45 points to 7.180,56 points.
The expanded index S&P 500 has let go of 1,33%, or 36,16 points, 2.677,67 dollars.
The american president Donald Trump said Thursday he would announce next week the imposition of customs duties of 25% steel and 10% aluminum, at the risk of provoking a trade war with its partners.
“The reactions of the markets is understandable because these ads tend to have a positive effect in the short term on the industries protected, but the negative consequences are much larger on world trade,” responded Alan Skrainka of Cornerstone Wealth Management.
The american producers of steel and aluminum have consistently shined, US Steel taking to 5.75% 46,01 dollars and Century Aluminum advancing 7,51% 20,48$. But they were alone.
The big international groups, in contrast, have suffered, like Boeing (NYSE:BA) (-3,46% to 349,69 dollars), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) (-2,85% 150,23 dollars), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) (-1,75% 175,00), all three members of the Dow Jones.
The european Union has announced its intention to “respond firmly” to the advertisement of Mr. Trump, the Canada believing his side as a tax on steel would be “unacceptable”.
“The entry in some form of trade war is not good news for the market,” said Patrick O’hare of Briefing.
However, “it is too early to talk of trade war,” said Mr. Skrainka, adding that the market has “responded excessively”.
In fact, “the imports of aluminum and steel account for only 2% of total imports” the american said Barclays (LON:BARC) in a note.
– The automobile suffers –
The market has reacted to the second hearing of the new president of the american central bank, Jerome Powell, in front of the Congress.
“Commentators have found that he had softened his tone in relation to the hearing on Tuesday. I don’t think so, and I will say further that Jerome Powell is by nature someone careful,” said Quincy Krosby of Prudential (LON:PRU).
This has contributed to the strong rebound in the bond market: the yield on Treasury bills to 10-year dropped to 2,801% compared to 2,861% Wednesday night, and the 30-year fell to 3,092% against 3,124% the day before.
On the front of the values, the major automotive manufacturers in the us were announced Thursday a decline in sales in February and declined: General Motors (NYSE:GM) has lost 3.96% to 37,79 dollars, Ford (NYSE:F) has dropped 3.02 percent to 10,29 dollars and Fiat Chrysler has abandoned 2,83% 20,59 dollars.
The manufacturer of motorcycles Harley-Davidson has declined (-0,64% 45,11 usd) after the announcement of an equity stake in Alta Motors, a company in Silicon Valley that manufactures two-wheeled electric.
The site of online sales american Overstock, which was also launched in a variety of activities related to the cryptomonnaies and the “blockchain”, has declined (-4,39% 57,75 dollars) after having stated the subject of an investigation by the constable of the financial markets (SEC).
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) was down 0.71% to 75,20 usd. The major u.s. oil has decided to withdraw from its exploration projects in common with the Russian giant Rosneft because of the western sanctions aimed at the latter.
