U.S. Stock ETFs Falter After China Cancels Farm Visit
This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.
U.S. markets and stock exchange traded funds slipped mid-Friday after Chinese delegates cancel a trip to United States' farms, fueling fears that tenuous plans for trade talks were already breaking down.
On Friday, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) dropped 0.4% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) decreased 0.4%.
According to the Montana Farm Bureau, Chinese agriculture officials who were scheduled to visit U.S. farm states canceled their trip to Montana, and they will now return to China sooner than originally expected, Reuters reports.
The Chinese delegates were in the U.S. for trade talks as President Donald Trump stated he wanted a completed trade deal and not just an agreement to buy more U.S. agricultural goods. China previously showed intent to purchase more U.S. agricultural goods as part of a bilateral trade deal and a sign of de-escalation in a protracted trade war.
It was not immediately clear whether or not other goodwill visits to U.S. farms would be canceled. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the trips were scheduled for next week as part of an effort to mend bridges.
The cancellation erased all of the earlier gains on Friday and sent markets reeling.
Investors were previously digesting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy moves after the central bank cut interest rates again on Wednesday, the second rate decrease this year. However, many were worried about the future outlook for further easing.
“We’re just below an all-time high, and yet there is this anxiety and lack of conviction,” Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors, told the Wall Street Journal. “One of the factors behind that is that the Fed continues to baffle investors.”
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