Aug 5, 2019

Dow plunges 760 points as Wall Street suffers its worst day of 2019

Courtenay Brown

Wall Street had its worst day of the year on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking 766 points, the S&P 500 down 2.98%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 3.47%.

Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals

What's happening: Equity declines in the U.S., as well as the plunge in Treasury yields, reflect fears that President Trump's trade war with China is escalating.

  • The sell-off started on Thursday and continued on Friday after Trump announced a 10% tax on the remaining $300 billion worth of imports from China.
  • On Monday, China retaliated by allowing the yuan to weaken past 7-to-1 against the dollar, while also announcing that it would halt purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
  • The S&P 500 closed about 5% below the record high seen on July 12th.

Go deeper: Experts worry that the China trade war could go on for decades

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Dion Rabouin, Courtenay Brown

Chinese yuan weakens past key milestone as trade war heats back up

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

The Chinese yuan was allowed to weaken past 7-to-1 against the dollar for the first time ever in offshore markets and the first time in more than 10 years in its onshore market.

What it means: The move is seen as a response to President Trump's threat on Thursday to add 10% tariffs to $300 billion of Chinese imports. Wall Street extended its multi-day sell-off after the news: the Dow is down more than 500 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are off as much as 2% early on Monday. Meantime, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note fell to multi-year lows.

Go deeperArrowAug 5, 2019
Orion Rummler

Trump escalates tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports

President Trump said he would raise tariffs against China on Friday in the aftermath of China's newly announced tariffs and a steep stock market drop.

What's happening: Trump said on Friday that $250 billion worth of goods and products from China would be taxed at 30% instead of 25%, starting Oct. 1, and the remaining $300 billion worth of goods will be taxed at 15%, instead of 10%.

Go deeperArrowAug 23, 2019
Rebecca Falconer

Trade war: Trump says China wants to restart negotiations

Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, Monday that China has contacted his administration to request for trade talks to resume.

Go deeperArrowUpdated Aug 26, 2019