Tariff Talk: Stock Market Swings and Sell-Offs

The markets simmer down but not out of the woods. Recent instability in the markets could have been caused by many factors but today the hot topic is the uncertainty that the tariff battle is causing. Tariff tit for tat. Some international retailers now playing hot potato. The shenanigans between Donald Trump and China keeps going. These issues have been front and centre in the middle of the day on Wall Street. Trump's proclivity for aggressive tariffs has had people holding their breath and crossed fingers. Investors are hoping that this may be a short lived trade war and end up back at the negotiating table. If a trade war happened it is expected that the American economy would be damaged from such a war. SometimesTrump has pointed to the market as a gauge for his approvals. The yields on the 10-year Treasury are closely watched as a gauge of market sentiment. The yields on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4. 57% from 4. 56% late Monday. Wall Street is hoping that Donald's bluffing and the phantom tariffs never get to make trade permanent. Trump's bravado does not settle the markets. The markets now watch the China trade talks like hawks. The markets have been watching the Trump administration like hawks because offear of the trade talks going south. Some advisors recommend taking an eagle eye approach to market moves. Some analysts say more swings may be ahead because Trump’s threats should be taken both seriously and literally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 42 points, or 0. 1% and the Nasdaq composite was 0. 3%. Trump has just announced tariff on China and China is taking them to the woodshed. Is Trump's reaction going to be to tell him to sit on it. This has raised the questionsDoes the end justify the means. Is Trump' s quest for certain China to stand down. is the applause worth the blood and pain. Would investors become flustered if Trump announces the tariffs will stay in place. It\ can be argued that the shop apart and high street will be as easy as signaling to Trump. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, went the distance. Sharp swings in the market have highlighted the influence of tariffs. The tariffs have got high street and shoppers flustered. Auto makers had initially dropped due to production in Mexico. Some investors are now shaken or have been shaken by the recent news. It's been reported that Trump's tough talk on tariffs looks to be his negotiating tool and not long term policy. The worry of the Trumps' tariffs are real. A China and Trump trade war would have to drag on for a long time to leave Wall Street seriously wounded. Some investors are confident and make the assumption that the Trump administration will make a U-turn in his quest for a trade war. Trump's past actions have given investors the confidence to believe that the Trump tariffs will not be sustained long. This gives traders and investors hope. The tariffs that have been enacted have not caused a market crash. The formation of a trade war would cause the world markets on edge and investors running for the hills. General Motors edged down by just 0. 1%, and Ford Motor rose 1. 5%. Alphabet saw its stock rise 0. 9% in early trading. Stocks around the market have been responding to the news. Some of the sell-offs have been the upon news of the tariffs. Palantir Technologies jumped 24. 8% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A broad brush of tariffs would be the pain. the auto industry sold off and the technology industry waited. Auto stocks reacted well to the news. A weak North American demand at PepsiCo led to a second straight quarterly decline in sales. The bond market has not reacted to the news. Expect U. S. markets to continue going down and so the tariffsMarket volatility will continue until the Trump Administration gets it handled. The markets are not taking the tariffs seriously. Some of the stocks that have been underperforming are currently enjoying upward growth. Google stock was one of these stocks. The FTSE 100 sank 0. 3%, but other big European markets rose modestly. The Hang Seng jumped 2. 8%, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1. 1%. This report was about the market reaction to the tariffs. End of story. If investors have a clear understanding of the punitive measures implemented by Trump it is believed that the markets will be stable.