Stocks are down, trade concerns push up oil prices

NEW YORK – Global stocks fell on Tuesday despite strong gains in Europe and rising oil prices, as markets remain under the grip of trade turbulence.

A deadline of July 6 is imminent for Washington to impose tariffs on $ 34 billion worth of Chinese goods that Beijing has promised to match tariffs on US products. President Donald Trump also threatened Monday to "do something" if the United States was not better handled by the World Trade Organization.

The prospects of a full-fledged trade war and the ongoing weakening of the Yuan = – it has dropped 5% in the last two weeks and is close to the lows of 11 months – would have forced China to intervene via public banks.

"It's by far the biggest (yuan loss) I can remember.Caution suggests that it needs to be adapted across Southeast Asia because of the implications competitive, "said Neil Mellor strategist at Bank of New York Mellon. "It generates some instability in the market simply because of its magnitude."

Among the stock markets, Hong Kong plunged 3.3% to nine-month lows .HSI, also hit by the US brakes on China Mobile ( 0941.HK ). The Shanghai Stock Exchange has reached a two-year low .SSEC but closed higher than the yuan has recovered.

Mood was more pleasing in Europe where a pan-European stock index rose 1%, the euro rallied and bond yields climbed after German Chancellor Angela Merkel concluded a migration agreement with its partners in the Bavarian conservative coalition.

MSCI measures stocks around the world .MIWD00000PUS paid 0.01 percent.

In the United States, benchmarks closed in the red after trading for much of the day in positive territory during a shortened vacation session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI lost 132.36 points, or 0.54%, to 24,174.82, the S & P 500.SPX lost 13.49 points, or 0.49%, to 2,713.22 and the Nixda Composite .IXIC fell 65.01 points, or 0.86%, to 7,502.67.

Shares of Facebook Inc. ( FB.O ) dropped 2.3% after the Washington Post reported that an investigation Federal on a data breach related to Cambridge Analytica had been expanded and would include more government agencies. This has also touched on other parts of technology.

"The main driver of US resilience is that the technology has been solid," said Rory McPherson, head of investment strategy at Psigma Asset Manager. "Expectations are quite high for the earnings season, with earnings growth of 20% year-over-year."

Energy stocks were boosted by a $ 78 per barrel increase in BrO crude BrOc1 McPherson noted. The technology and energy sectors in Europe grew by 0.5 and 1% .SX8P .SXEP, respectively.

While US growth and corporate profits seem unassailable, China's and Europe's titling rates may ultimately be detrimental to US businesses and jobs.

U.S. Bond yields rose slightly in a more favorable environment, but concerns over trade helped to bring the gap between the two and ten year rates closer to the lowest since 2007. US2US10 = RR.

"Basically (the flat curve) says that underlying growth in the US economy may not be as strong as high short-term interest rates could justify" said McPherson.

The dollar fell 0.4% against a basket of .DXY currencies and the easing of tensions in Germany helped the euro to gain 0.2% against the greenback EUR = D3.

Friday's monthly wage data should show that labor markets remain tense, keeping the US Federal Reserve's policy on track.

"Despite the concerns of the trade war, the US central bank remains the most hawkish central bank among its peers and should be supporting the dollar for now," said Jane Foley, currency strategist at Rabobank.