Relief from the Trump administration’s announcement that some tariffs on consumer goods exported from China will be delayed until December may have been short lived.
US stock futures point lower Wednesday following weak economic data out of Germany and China. The Dow could open down 200 points, or 0.8% lower. The Nasdaq could drop 0.9% and the S&P 500 could fall 0.8%.
European markets dropped in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.7%, while Germany’s DAX shed 1.1%.
Stocks in Asia finished higher, helped along by the US rally during the previous session. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.1% after two days of protests disrupted flights at the city’s airport.
The Dow closed up 1.4% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 1.5%, and the Nasdaq gained 2%.
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Investor jitters have a lot to do with the fact that German’s economy is shrinking while pressure builds in China.
Germany said Wednesday that GDP for the three months ended June contracted 0.1% compared to the previous quarter, in line with analyst expectations. That’s down from 0.4% growth in the first three months of the year.
The world’s fourth largest economy, and Europe’s biggest, has been hit by what analysts describe as a “perfect storm” of negative factors, including the trade war, weak global auto sales and fears of a disorderly Brexit.
China, meanwhile, saw industrial production grow just 4.8% in July, its weakest rate in 17 years. Retail sales from July also came in worse than expected.
