FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., January 12, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
January 24, 2018
By Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) – U.S. stocks pared gains on Wednesday after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross called China’s 2025 technology strategy a “direct threat” and hinted at action against Beijing, stirring fears of a tit-for-tat trade war.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ross said U.S. trade authorities were investigating whether there is a case for taking action over China’s infringements of intellectual property.
That was enough to turn back a relatively upbeat morning on New York markets, which had been buoyed by the prospect of a weaker dollar boosting the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
“There is commentary coming from Davos … about China,” Michael Antonelli, managing director, institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.
“But I would lean towards the fact that the market has come so far so fast. If we continue to hit lower today, I think then we have come to a buying exhaustion point.”
By 11:56 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up just 65 points, or 0.25 percent, at 26,275.91, having earlier risen around 0.7 percent on the day.
The S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 0.27 points, or 0.00951 percent, at 2,838.86 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> lost 34.16 points, or 0.46 percent, at 7,426.13.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Herb Lash in New York.; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
