Dow extends losses, down over 300 pts, as trade war fears hurt industrials

The Dow industrials fell more than 300 points on Friday on mounting fears of a global trade war following President Donald Trump's promise to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Europe promised to act firmly and China said it would defend its interests appropriately if Trump followed through with his pledge of imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

The blue-chip index turned negative for the year following the news and is now down 1.4 percent for the period.

Boeing's 3.8 percent fall weighed the most on the index as worries about higher costs troubled investors.

Stock markets globally start 2018 on cheerful note; bond yields rise

World stocks hit fresh highs on Wednesday with European markets joining the party as early indications suggest 2018 will be another year of synchronised global growth led by a robust European economy.

After its biggest one-day gain in more than two weeks on Tuesday, and in the wake of its best year since 2009 in 2017, MSCI's index of global stocks, which tracks shares in 47 countries, pushed on to new record highs.

The pan-European stock index was 0.2 per cent higher following gains for their Asian and US counterparts overnight as manufacturing surveys pointed to a strong start for the European economy. US stock futures suggested another higher open on Wednesday.

The single currency was holding near a four-month high of $1.2081 hit on Tuesday.

"Investors have woken up in the new year and looked forward to another firm-year for global growth with very muted downside risk," said Investec economist Philip Shaw. But he warned against reading too much into the first two trading days of the new year.

"The converse is the sell-off in bond markets: the idea that inflation pressures may be firmer than expected and central banks could take a slightly more aggressive approach than previously thought," Shaw added.
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