Markets stage comeback after Friday trade war talks, despite Trump’s tariff increase on Chinese goods
- US stocks recovered from a weeklong sell-off after the Trump administration followed through with a rise in duties at midnight
- Trump tweeted positively about China and his relationship with Xi Jinping
US stocks staged a dramatic turnaround on Friday afternoon, recuperating all losses they had made in the morning after the US followed through on its midnight tariff increase.
From noon, the Dow jumped 450 points to close at 25942. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.37 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively.
The markets turned upbeat after the latest round of negotiations wrapped up in Washington on Friday. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, without indicating a deal was close, characterised the talks as constructive.
Markets have been jittery over a week of surprises and uncertainty that upended what appeared to be the final stretch of a trade truce between the two countries. Some had hoped that the threat of tariff increases was only a trade negotiating tactic with China.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that the US and China had taken part in “candid and constructive conversations”, adding: “The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue.
“In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!”
