Stock index futures were in good shape this morning (Dow future up triple digits) until this showed up in the Wall Street Journal (Dow future down triple digits):
“The Trump administration is broadening its China trade battle beyond tariffs with a plan to use export controls, indictments and other tools to counter the theft of intellectual property, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Earlier news regarding cuts in production among Apple suppliers isn’t helping either.
As for the China headline, while the market’s reaction confirms our view that trade is a huge concern these days, I wonder if this particular headline doesn’t contain a potential silver lining. I wonder if this isn’t the Administration preparing to exit its ill-conceived tariff scheme (last week the President suggested that a deal is in the works), while addressing the legitimate intellectual property concerns in a more direct manner. Operative, and optimistic, words being “exit its ill-conceived tariff scheme.”
Time will tell… Expect lots of volatility while we wait…