Stocks point lower on tariff threat ahead of jobs report

Stocks point lower on tariff threat ahead of jobs report

U.S. equity futures are pointing to a lower open as markets around the globe react to President Trump's announcement that additional tariffs will be put on Chinese goods.

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Wall Street will also be closely watching the July jobs report on Friday for signs that the longest U.S. economic expansion on record is beginning to slow, weighed down by trade tensions and softening global growth.

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Economists polled by Refinitiv anticipate the U.S. economy to have added 164,000 jobs — a steady, if fairly unnoteworthy estimate, which is well-below June’s stronger-than-expected 224,000 jobs, but still above the average gain of 171,000 jobs over the past three months. Unemployment, meanwhile, is expected to hold steady at 3.7 percent.

Dow Jones industrial futures are lower by 0.2 percent, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.3 percent and Nasdaq futures were off by 0.5 percent.

Trump ratcheted things up on Thursday with a  surprise announcement of 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, effective Sept. 1. That sent U.S. stocks plunging with the Dow ending down 280 points.

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Ticker Security Last Change %Chg
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 26583.42 -280.85 -1.05%
SP500 S&P 500 2953.56 -26.82 -0.90%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 8111.120919 -64.30 -0.79%

The tit-for-tat trade war continues as China has threatened to retaliate if  President Trump's planned tariff hikes go ahead.

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Trump's announcement surprised investors after the White House said Beijing promised to buy more farm goods. It came as their latest trade talks ended in Shanghai with no sign of a deal.

The next round of trade talks between the U.S. and China are scheduled for September.

The news roiled Asian markets,  China's Shanghai fell 1.4 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell more than 2 percent and Japan's Nikkei hit a six-week low with a loss of  2.1 percent.

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The tariff news also led to an 8 percent drop in oil. U.S. crude was trading another 3 percent lower on Friday morning.

Two oil giants, ExxonMobil and Chevron will reports earnings Friday morning.

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