Trump rattles markets, but it could have been worse…

Stocks dropped for the 3rd day straight after the Grinch President Trump went on a tariff frenzy.

First there were aluminum and steel tariffs on Brazil and Argentina.

And now the President is imposing duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in French imports. The taxes would apply to French champagne, cheese, and other luxury items. The move is in retaliation to a 3.0% tax “digital tax” targeting U.S. tech companies that generate revenues in France.

But to make matters worse, it sounds like President Trump is in no rush to make a deal with China (at least that’s what he wants China to think).

President Trump said “I have no deadline, no…I think it is better to wait until after the election if you want to know the truth.” Trump also said that today’s slide is “peanuts” compared to how much stocks have rallied since his election.

The major indices traded at lows of the day after Trump’s comments, and after news that the White House has no plans to stop tariffs on Chinese Goods scheduled to go into effect on December 15th. These tariffs (and the rollback of current tariffs) are key to a Phase One deal with China.

At one point the S&P was down 1.4%, but clawed its way back and managed to cut the day’s loss in half.

Here’s where the major indices ended the day:

• The S&P finished with a 0.7% loss. Down 21 points, the S&P ended at 3,093.
• The DOW ended lower by 1.0%. Dropping 280 points, the DOW closed at 27,503.
• The NASDAQ was down 0.6%. With a 47 point gain, the NASDAQ finished at 8,521.

Crude Oil (CL) finished higher for the 2nd day straight. Up 0.2%, CL ended the day at $56.06 a barrel.

The DOW was hardest hit today, with trade sensitive stocks like Apple (AAPL), Boeing (BA), and Caterpillar (CAT) taking a beating. Apple finished lower by 1.8%, Boeing lost 0.9% and CAT dropped 2.0%. 

The VIX (aka Fear Index) jumped again today after today’s losses. The VIX is up 26.5% in just 2 days.