Stocks slide as China cancels US farmer visit
- Stocks traded lower on Friday after the Chinese trade delegation canceled a trip to US farms next week.
- The visit was seen as a gesture of goodwill to the Trump administration in the middle of trade talks between the two countries.
- Shares of Netflix plunged as much as 7% - dragging down the tech-heavy Nasdaq - after a Bernstein analyst said the company could fall as much as 21% before hitting a "theoretical floor."
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Stocks sunk on Friday after Chinese trade officials canceled a planned visit to the US, sparking fears that Thursday's trade negotiations may not have brought the two countries closer to striking a deal.
The Chinese delegation was previously scheduled to visit US farms in Montana next week, the Montana Farm Bureau told Reuters on Friday. The visit was being viewed as a gesture of goodwill to the Trump administration ahead of further trade talks.
This latest development comes after President Trump said earlier this week China began purchasing US agricultural products again. The US and China also engaged in deputy-level talks on Thursday to lay the groundwork for high-level talks set to kick-off in October.
The development is the latest twist-and-turn in the US-China trade conflict which has kept investors on edge over the last several months.
Here's a look at the major indexes as of the 4 p.m. close on Friday:
- The S&P 500 fell 0.49%, to 2,992.07.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.59%, to 26,935.07.
- The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.80%, to 8,117.67.
Shares of Roku cratered as much as 23% after Pivotal Research slapped a rare sell-rating on the stock and a $60 price target. Pivotal analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said in a note to clients that he predicts increased competition in the streaming sector will drive device prices "to zero."
Netflix's stock price tumbled as much as 7% after a Bernstein analyst said the company's shares could fall another 21% before hitting a "theoretical floor." Shares of the streaming company have fallen more than 21% over the last three months after reporting disappointing second-quarter earnings.
Within the S&P 500, these were the largest gainers:
- Incyte: 4%
- Align Technology: 3.4%
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: 3.4%
And the largest decliners:
Consumer discretionary and technology stocks tumbled more than 1.1%, while financials fell 0.6%. Healthcare climbed 0.6%.