As of Friday afternoon, China’s only response to the tariffs President Donald Trump announced this week was to say it would defend itself. But investors are concerned tensions will keep rising, and that a round of sanctions and retaliation will affect the global economy and corporate profits.
The Chinese government did say it might place tariffs on a $3 billion list of U.S. goods such as pork, apples and steel pipes. That was a response to the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that Trump announced earlier this month.
The losses were widespread. Technology companies were pummeled. They have made enormous gains over the last year, but since they do so much business outside the U.S., investors see them as particularly vulnerable to the effects of a trade dispute.