US stocks slumped amid escalating trade tensions and grim economic data on Friday. Treasuries climbed.

The S&P 500 extended its weekly slide as the US moved to curtail Huawei Technologies Co’s chip supply, and a separate news report said China is ready to take a series of countermeasures. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 3 per cent. Equities also fell as gauges of American retail sales and factory production plummeted amid coronavirus-related shutdowns. The dollar was little changed. Oil extended its surge.

Global recession worry

Mounting tension between the world’s two largest economies has investors concerned of an ever deeper global recession. The cost of the coronavirus pandemic could reach as much as $8.8 trillion, or almost 10 per cent of global gross domestic product, according to the Asian Development Bank. The S&P 500 headed to its worst week since March 20 — or just before the start of a rally of more than 30 per cent.

“It’s a sobering week,” said Tracie McMillion, head of global asset allocation strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “Investors have a lot to think about with regard to China. We got data this week that accentuate the difficulty the economy is experiencing right now,” Tracie added.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.9 per cent as of 9:30 a.m. New York time. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.5 per cent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.2 per cent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed. The euro increased 0.4 per cent to $1.0843.

The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3 per cent to 106.98 per dollar.

Bonds: The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 0.60 per cent. Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.56 per cent. Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.194 per cent.

Commodities: The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed 0.9 per cent. West Texas Intermediate crude increased 3.9 per cent to $28.63 a barrel. Gold advanced 0.6 per cent to $1,752.10 an ounce.

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