Investors in tech stocks are nervously watching as the Trump administration continues to press China on trade. Some of them are unloading tech stocks to reduce risk in front of the weekend.
An hour before the market closed on Friday, Apple stock was down 3.6%, Google stock was off 2.8%, Amazon was down 3.8%, and Microsoft was off 3.7%. The Nasdaq as a whole was down more than 3%.
Tech investors were closely watching the court appearance Friday by Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is accused of attempting to circumvent trade sanctions against Iran. Her arrest in Canada on Thursday is seen as a potential blow to progress in the tentative U.S.-China trade truce.
The U.S. is in the midst of trade talks with China. The two sides agreed to a 90-day cease-fire on any new tariffs, pending the progress made toward an agreement during talks.
China talks are going very well!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018
Markets also reacted to a new report on Friday morning saying U.S. payrolls and wages rose by less than forecast in November, while the unemployment rate remained the same. The report gave some investors hope that the Federal Reserve might slow down interest rate increases in the first half of 2019. That boosted the market early in the day, but the effect soon wore off. The S&P 500 is down more than 50 points, and is on course to close down 4.4% for the week.
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