NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equity markets struggled and safe-haven assets like gold were in demand on Friday as weak Chinese data stoked investor anxieties over a global growth slowdown and fears of a U.S.-Iran confrontation added to geopolitical uncertainty.
Attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman lifted oil prices, although they remained on track for a weekly loss on worries a sluggish world economy could hurt demand.
China’s industrial output growth slowed to a more than 17-year low, well below expectations, suggesting Beijing was feeling the sting of the protracted trade spat with the U.S.
“Any time you have weak economic news coming out of China it highlights the fact that the trade tensions are having a negative impact on the global economy,” said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
“The dollar is strengthening. It’s seen as a safe haven. Treasury yields are moving lower. This is all indicative of concerns the global economy is slowing,” Pavlik added.
A warning of a broad slowdown in chip demand from chipmaker Broadcom Inc underscored the effects of the U.S.-China tariff dispute, dragging on European as well as U.S. equity indexes.
Tariff-sensitive tech stocks pulled all three major U.S. indexes lower and gold prices hit a 14-month high as investors fled equities for less risky assets. [GOL/]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.96 points, or 0.07%, to 26,087.81, the S&P 500 lost 4.11 points, or 0.14%, to 2,887.53
