The trade war was long seen as “mission completed” for many investors. After all, we saw many near conclusions for the deal. A few weeks ago that changed. And this week, the skirmish continued to plague the markets in a big way. Now, worries have begun to creep in that the trade war might become very long lasting indeed. Several key tech stocks warned that the lack of a deal and its continued escalation would have a dramatic effect on the U.S. This sent stocks reeling over the last trading sessions.
The lack of hard data this week didn’t help the situation and the Federal Reserve provided little to no comfort. Several speeches by fed governors and the latest FOMC meeting minutes indicated a more cautious and worrisome tone to the economy – with the trade war being front and center.
Elsewhere, earnings didn’t provide a great picture either. This week was dominated by retailers. And the numbers overall weren’t that great. While there were several pockets of bullish reports, many in the sector this week were hit hard. This added to general uneasiness about the trading week.
All in all, the markets continued to ebb and flow – with the bears ultimately winning.
Be sure to check out our previous Wrap here, when trade anxiety also surged.
