NEW YORK, May 10 — Wall Street stocks dipped early today as the United States followed through on a threat to increase tariffs on Chinese imports, while investors awaited the market debut of Uber.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 25,763.52, down 0.3 per cent.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.2 per cent to 2,863.98, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.3 per cent at 7,890.67.
Stocks have been pressured all week as US President Donald Trump as Trump has accused China of backtracking on prior commitments in the months-long talks.
The US increased punitive duties on US$200 billion (RM831 billion) in imports from 10 to 25 per cent just hours earlier, with the Chinese Commerce Ministry saying it “deeply regrets” the move and repeating its pledge to take “necessary countermeasures.”
The latest round of talks resumed for a second day this morning, with the heightened hostilities dimming hopes that a deal can be reached very soon.
“This matter is running a higher risk of being a persistent thorn in the market’s side,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
The first trades on Uber were expected later today morning after an initial public offering priced the ride-hailing company at US$45 a share, valuing the startup at more than US$82 billion, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shares priced at the low end of Uber’s projected range. Shares in Uber’s rival Lyft have fallen since that company’s late March market debut. — AFP
