Global stocks slip after Trump accuses China of a disinformation and propaganda attack

Associated Press

• Global stocks slipped into the red on Thursday after President Trump accused China of a “disinformation and propaganda attack” that “comes from the top.”
• “That comes dangerously close to finger pointing at Xi Jinping, something Trump has so far not done and which may be a bridge that can only be burned once,” said Rabobank analysts.
• The declines struck a contrast to the S&P 500, which closed at its highest level since March on Wednesday.
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International stock markets pulled back on Thursday as President Trump fanned US-China tensions by accusing the world’s second-largest economy of a “disinformation and propaganda attack.”

Trump tweeted: “China is on a massive disinformation campaign because they are desperate to have Sleepy Joe Biden win the presidential race so they can continue to rip-off the United States, as they have done for decades, until I came along!”

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The president added that China’s spokespeople are “trying desperately to deflect the pain and carnage that their country spread throughout the world.”

“Its disinformation and propaganda attack on the United States and Europe is a disgrace…it all comes from the top,” he continued. “They could have easily stopped the plague, but they didn’t!”

Trump almost directly blamed the Chinese president for the “attack,” analysts at Rabobank pointed out.

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“That comes dangerously close to finger pointing at Xi Jinping, something Trump has so far not done and which may be a bridge that can only be burned once,” they said in a research note.

Global indexes retreated despite the S&P 500 closing at its highest level since March on Wednesday, helped by Facebook and Amazon hitting all-time highs.

Here’s the market roundup as of 12:10 p.m. in London (7:10 a.m. ET):

• Asian indexes fell with China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 0.5%, and Japan’s Nikkei down 0.2%.
• European equities fell, with Germany’s DAX down 1.4%, Britain’s FTSE 100 down 0.6%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 down 1.2%.
• US stocks are set to open lower. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq fell as much as 0.6%.
• Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate up 2.1% at $34.20, and Brent crude up 2.1% at $36.50.
• The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.67%.
• Gold fell 0.9% to $1,734.

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