US stocks edged up at the open on Friday, despite escalating fears about a global trade war after Donald Trump signed off on new plans to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, and the threat of a government shutdown.
The Dow opened up 0.5 per cent, the S&P up 0.2 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 0.07 per cent, recovering from Thursday’s washout after the new tariffs were announced.
China hit back after the US unveiled a plan to impose up to $60bn (£42.5bn) in new tariffs on goods from the country, and told the President he should avoid taking bilateral trade relations to “a dangerous place”. The Chinese commerce ministry said it hopes the US will pull back “from the brink” and reiterated that it opposes US unilateralism and protectionism.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has threatened to veto a crucial federal spending bill over immigration issues. In a tweet sent on Friday afternoon, the President said his decision was due to the fact that “800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats”, while the border wall “which is desperately needed for our National Defense” is not fully funded.
Earlier on Friday, the US Senate passed the $1.3 trillion (£919bn) spending bill that will increase funding for the military and domestic spending and will keep the government funded through the end of September. However, the bill must be signed by the President before midnight on Friday to be made into law. If Mr Trump refuses to sign, the US government faces another shutdown.
