No surprises on the markets today as they tanked in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats against China.
Trump says he’ll hit China with $100 billion more in tariffs in response to Beijing’s earlier response to U.S. tariffs. China says if Trump goes through with those tariffs there will be a “fierce counterstrike.” All this comes after the markets got a bump the last couple of days when the White House’s top economic advisor said it was negotiating with China.
On Bay Street financials and energy took big hits, pushing the TSX 148 points lower to close at 15,207. The losses on Wall Street were steeper, with the Dow Jones closing at 23,932, losing 572 points as even some optimism on NAFTA, with top ministers from Canada, Mexico and the United States meeting in Washington today, wasn’t enough to allay concerns over a trade war.
The loonie was up and down on the back of Stats Canada’s March job numbers showing over 30,000 new Canadian jobs and growth in average hourly wages, as investors wait to see how the Bank of Canada responds. At press time it’s down a tenth of a cent to 78.30 cents U.S., oil is down a $1.54 to $62.00 U.S. per barrel and gold is up $8.20 to $1336.70 an ounce.
