How Could a Trade War with China Impact the Stock Market?

Made in China… the Trump administration has entered into a trade war between the world’s two largest economies: The United States (duh) and China. On Friday, the United States announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. China responded with tariffs of its own which could impact some of our favorite companies. After the dust had settled, the stock market ended down for the day.

We’re going down…the Dow is now on a four-day losing streak and had some prominent names, including Apple (AAPL), Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT), and Intel (INTC) taking losses. These companies are especially vulnerable to a trade-war because they generate a good chunk of change directly from China. Even though they have not been directly impacted yet, the uncertainty looms large, and with uncertainty comes risk.

Stay tuned… stocks with the most exposure to the Chinese market may become more volatile while this conflict remains unresolved. Still, there are stocks coming out ahead, including Netflix (NFLX), Costco (COST), and railroad Union Pacific (UNP). These are companies that have more exposure to the US market and less to lose in a trade-war.

Let’s take a step back and breathe because it is not quite time to hit the panic button. Let’s keep our attention on Trump (just as he likes) and see how this progresses in the coming weeks. Read more