US equity markets retreated in the closing hour of trading to settle near their session lows as the US-China trade war remained firmly in focus - Dow fell -238-points or -0.93%, relinquishing an earlier gain of +131-points as banks (Goldman Sachs Group Inc down -1.8%, Citigroup Inc -0.9% and J.P.Morgan Chase and Co -1.1%) came under pressure amid fresh falls in Treasury yields. The broader S&P500 lost -0.84%, with Consumer Staples (down -1.79%) and Utilities (-1.61%) leading ten of the eleven primary sector into the red. The NASDAQ -0.40%. President Trump said the US was “not ready” to make a deal with China at the end of his four-day visit to Japan, adding tariffs on Chinese goods “could go up very, very substantially.” Separately, a senior official at China's state planner quoted by state newsagency Xinhua said that Beijing would prioritise domestic demand for so-called 'rare earths', a key element in many high-technology and defence applications, in what appeared to be a clear move to ramp up the pressure on Washington. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Global Payments and TSYS announced a US$21.5B all-scrip merger, confirming weeks of media speculation.
