Trump Slams China, and the Markets Sink

President Trump took an unexpected shot at China on Friday, and the stock market immediately recoiled at the prospect of a new flare-up in relations, reports CNBC.

• In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that Beijing was becoming "very hostile" in regard to rare-earth materials, a reference to newly announced export restrictions, reports the Wall Street Journal.
• Trump threatened to raise tariffs and impose new export penalties on China, adding there was "no reason" to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as planned in two weeks.

• "Dependent on what China says about the hostile 'order' that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move," Trump wrote.
• The Dow dropped more than 500 points after the Trump post, while the benchmark S&P 500 lost 1.7% and the tech-centric Nasdaq lost 2.7%. All three indexes were recovering some of the losses since the first steep plunges.