US close: Markets finish lower as Trump goes all-out on China trade
US stocks finished just below the waterline on Friday, as Microsoft rallied on the back of strong results, while the dollar tumbled against its major rivals after President Trump ramped up his trade war rhetoric.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.03% at 25,058.12, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 2,801.83, and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.03% to 7,350.23.
Meanwhile, the greenback fell across the board after it emerged that Trump had said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that he was ready to impose tariffs on all $500bn of Chinese imports if China did not bow to US complaints about its trade policies.
In the interview, Trump criticised the Federal Reserve's interest rate rises, made it clear he wants a weaker dollar and said he was "ready to go to 500" on Chinese imports.
“The US currently plans to impose tariffs on imports from China worth $250bn, out of a total of just over $500bn last year, so this latest threat would represent a significant step up in its protectionist trade policies if enacted,” said analysts at Capital Economic.
The US President also attacked the European Union and China over their currency weakness.
Still, equities proved relatively resilient in the face of Trump's latest comments for much of the session.
In corporate news, software giant Microsoft rallied 1.79% after the company's quarterly revenue and profit beat analysts' expectations late on Thursday.
Fourth-quarter profit rose to $8.87bn or $1.14 a share, beating a forecast of $1.08 while sales rose 17% to $30.1bn versus expectations of $29.2bn.
The solid performance was driven by an increase in sales for the group's flagship Azure clouding computing business and good growth for its productivity and business processes unit.
Honeywell was also on the front foot, adding 3.79% after its quarterly profit came in ahead of expectations and the company lifted its 2018 earnings forecast.
On the downside, General Electric retreated 4.44% after the company said profit dropped 30% in the second quarter on the back of weakness in its power division.
Skechers USA shares tumbled 20.99% after the footwear company's second-quarter same-store sales and earnings missed expectations.
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $106.27 1.79%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $111.29 1.27%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $146.36 1.27%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $231.67 0.90%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $202.45 0.74%
Visa Inc. (V) $140.98 0.61%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.96 0.48%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $122.26 0.48%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.28 0.38%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $157.97 0.36%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $136.82 -1.84%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.40 -1.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.01 -0.92%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.47 -0.59%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $65.82 -0.42%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.62 -0.26%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $191.44 -0.23%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $51.91 -0.13%
Boeing Co. (BA) $354.90 -0.12%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $37.32 -0.11%
S&P 500 - Risers
Snap On Inc. (SNA) $173.74 9.79%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $203.57 5.11%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $84.32 4.22%
VF Corp. (VFC) $92.95 4.16%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $28.79 3.75%
SCANA Corp. (SCG) $40.13 3.35%
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $144.23 3.28%
Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) $23.64 2.87%
Welltower Inc (WELL) $63.50 2.75%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $80.23 2.71%
S&P 500 - Fallers
State Street Corp. (STT) $85.98 -9.81%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $96.99 -5.36%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $18.44 -4.85%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $21.49 -4.70%
General Electric Co. (GE) $13.12 -4.44%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.71 -4.27%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $52.16 -3.82%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $41.34 -3.79%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $151.13 -3.47%
L Brands Inc (LB) $31.71 -3.23%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $203.57 5.11%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $248.14 2.19%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $219.81 2.11%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $106.27 1.79%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $375.38 1.37%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $57.46 1.13%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $77.56 1.08%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $209.94 0.89%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $264.25 0.82%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $23.45 0.73%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $96.99 -5.36%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $35.51 -3.71%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $55.02 -2.13%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $313.58 -2.08%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $125.50 -1.81%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $34.30 -1.75%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $177.40 -1.51%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $106.92 -1.45%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $46.00 -1.39%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $21.70 -1.36%