Dow tumbles 300 points as investors brace for a protracted U.S.-China trade standoff

Stocks fell sharply Thursday morning, amid investor concern that trade tensions between the U.S. and China could get worse before they improve.

What’s driving the market? U.S. investors are beginning to adjust to the idea of a protracted standoff between the U.S. and China, as increased trade tensions have continued to weigh on stocks in general and the technology sector in particular.Weakness in global markets spread to the U.S. Thursday morning as investors digested the implications of new U.S. export restrictions placed on Chinese telecom firm Huawei Technologies Co., with The Wall Street Journal reporting that U.K.

Economic data from Europe may also be contributing to fears over global growth, after IHS Markit’s flash composite purchasing manager’s index showed the eurozone manufacturing sector falling further into contraction, with factory managers cutting staff levels for the first time since August of 2014. What’s on the economic calendar? The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell to 211,000 in the week ended May 18, from 212,000 the week prior. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a 217,000 reading.

Shares of Best Buy Co. BBY, -5.74% fell 3.9% Thursday, after the big-box retailer reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts, but issued a subdued outlook for the full-year 2019. Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL, -2.47% remain under pressure Thursday, after UBS cut its price target on the stock from $235 to $225, following the release of its annual survey of smartphone users, which indicated that the time consumers wait before upgrading to a new phone will continue to lengthen. Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall estimated that 29% of the company’s earnings could be at risk if China decided to ban sales of Apple products. The stock is down 1.5%, and has fallen 4.

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Dow ends with triple-digit loss as weak retailer earnings offset Fed minutesU.S. stocks ended lower at the closing bell on Wednesday after a raft of weaker-than-expected earnings from retailers overshadowed the Federal Reserve's... one hundred down over twelve hundred To go. ;) So now China can sink the market by tweets and comments?
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