The rally in U.S. stocks came to a halt on Thursday on new concerns that the U.S.-Chinese trade dispute will intensify. Stock markets and major government bond yields have risen in recent weeks on hopes that a global trade war could be averted, particularly as leaders of the United States and Canada expressed optimism they could reach a new North American Free Trade Agreement by Friday. Investor sentiment darkened, however, on the prospect that a new round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods may likely take effect in September. President Donald Trump has told aides he is ready to impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports as soon as a public comment period on the plan ends next week, Bloomberg News reported. Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 6/32 in price to yield 2.8604 percent, down from 2.882 percent late on Wednesday. The dollar moved higher for the first time in five days on the renewed trade tensions and turmoil in emerging markets currencies. The dollar index rose 0.07 percent, with the euro down 0.29 percent to $1.1672. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 137.65 points, or 0.53 percent, to 25,986.92, the S&P 500 lost 12.91 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,901.13 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.32 points, or 0.26 percent, to 8,088.36. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell from a five-month high and was down 0.5 percent. A pan-European stock index closed down 0.3 percent. U.S. crude rose 0.9 percent to $70.13 per barrel and Brent was last at $77.84, up 0.49 percent, as U.S. crude inventories dropped.
