Shares fell Friday in Europe and Asia as investors awaited a news conference about China by President Donald Trump later in the day.
U.S. and Chinese officials have been trading harsh rhetoric recently on everything from Hong Kong to the response to the coronavirus outbreak. One fear is that further friction could lead to another punishing round of escalating tariffs between the two countries that would hit the global economy when it's already in a severe recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Germany's DAX lost 1.4% to 11,616.15 and the CAC 40 in France slipped 1.2% to 4,712.27. Britain's FTSE 100 gave up 1.1% to 6,149.44. U.S. markets were poised for losses, with the future contract for the S&P 500 0.6% lower and the future for the Dow industrials down 0.7%. Even with Thursday's loss, the S&P 500 is still on pace for its third weekly gain of at least 2.5% in the last four weeks. Following their breathtaking drop of nearly 34% in February and much of March, stocks began recovering after the Federal Reserve and Capitol Hill pledged unprecedented amounts of aid for the economy.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 0.66% from 0.70% late Thursday. It tends to reflect sentiment about the economy's strength and inflation.
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