The benchmark US indices fell sharply last Friday (31 May) to cap a tough week and month for equity markets as trade tensions ratchet up - Dow down -355-points or -1.41%. The broader S&P500 -1.32% (at 2,752.06 and closing below its 200-day moving average for the first time since 8 March), with Communications Services (down -2.05%), Energy (-1.61%) and Information Technology (-1.60%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors into the red. Real Estate (up +0.77%) and Utilities (+0.44%) were the only primary sectors that advanced. General Motors Co (down -4.3%) and Ford Motor Co (-2.3%) were both under pressure as the automakers have substantial production exposure to Mexico. The NASDAQ -1.51%. Apple Inc (down -1.81%) kicks off its week-long Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose tonight AEST, with updates expected on devices and the applications that run them along with a potential updates to its streaming TV service. The latest falls came after President Trump announced after the US markets' close last Thursday (30 May) that the US would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from 10 June until illegal immigration across the southern border was stopped. The White House added in a statement that tariffs would be raised if the immigration issue persisted, with the charges set to increase to 10% on 1 July, and another 5% for every successive month, up to 25% by 1 October if Mexico fails to take “dramatic action” to reduce or eliminate the problem. Mexico is one of the US' largest trade partners. Adding to the trade uncertainty, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would publish a blacklist of ‘unreliable’ foreign entities. This comes soon after the US Commerce Department placed Huawei Technologies and its affiliates on a blacklist over national security concerns, restricting their ability to purchase equipment and software from US high-tech companies. China released a white paper on Sunday (2 June) saying that the escalating trade war with the US "hasn't made America great again" and contends the actions have done serious harm to the US economy. The white paper details China's prerequisites for a trade deal, including that thr US remove all additional tariffs and that China's purchase of goods from the US should be realistic. China's higher tariffs (rising to 20%-25% from 5%-10% on most goods) that were announced on 13 May on US products on a US$60B target list took effect last Friday (31 May). For the week, the Dow lost -3.01% to log its sixth straight weekly decline - the longest weekly losing streak for the Dow since 2011; The S&P500 fell -2.62% and Nasdaq -2.41%, with both indices posting their fourth consecutive weekly slide.
