Stocks opened lower and remained in negative territory throughout the day, though the averages finished well off their early lows. The weakness was attributed to renewed trade concerns as the White House announced plans for new tariffs on China, which the Asian power responded to in kind. Oil prices also suffered as China's Commerce Ministry was reported to have said oil, natural gas, and coal imports would have tariffs imposed at a later date. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the White House confirmed plans to implement a 25% tariff on $50B of goods from China and said it will pursue additional tariffs if China engages in retaliatory measures. In response, China intends to impose tariffs on certain U.S. goods from July 6, according to Bloomberg. The Empire State manufacturing index rose 4.9 points to 25.0 in June, which was better than the 18.8 reading that was expected. Industrial production dropped 0.1% in May after slight net-upward revisions modestly undershot estimates. Production was forecast to have risen 0.2% last month. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for June rose 1.3 points to 99.3, which was better than the 98.5 forecast. Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is down 3 rigs from last week to 1,059. In Asia, the Bank of Japan maintained its rate target but reduced its assessment of inflation. The Bank left unchanged its yield-curve control program and asset purchase programs. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of General Motors (GM) gained about 1% after Bloomberg reported that the car maker is having early talks internally and with banks about strategic options for its self-driving car unit Cruise Automation, including a listing of shares... Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) announced a "unique, multi-year content partnership" with Oprah Winfrey, through which the two parties will create original programs... In addition, Bloomberg reported that 21st Century Fox's (FOXA) board will weigh Comcast's (CMCSA) $65B takeover bid against Disney's (DIS) next week at a meeting on Wednesday... LyondellBasell (LYB) and Odebrecht S.A., the controlling shareholder of Braskem (BAK), jointly announced the companies have entered into exclusive discussions regarding a potential transaction between LyondellBasell and Braskem... In other M&A news, SandRidge Energy (SD) issued an open letter to shareholders providing an update on the company's strategic review process, in which the company said that Midstates Petroleum (MPO) was offered a form of confidentiality agreement with "terms more favorable than any other participant." In response, Midstates called Sandridge's statement "inaccurate," stating that SandRidge would require Midstates to enter into a standstill, which the company called "an unusual requirement for a party that has made a public offer." SandRidge shareholder Carl Icahn sent a letter to the company's stockholders saying the strategic review process is a "disingenuous sham" and that holders should vote for Icahn's board nominees. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Canada Goose (GOOS), which jumped 33% after the outerwear maker's fourth quarter earnings report. Among the notable losers was Jabil Circuit (JBL), which slid 6.5% after it reported quarterly results, provided quarterly guidance, announced an additional $350M share repurchase program, and announced that CFO Forbes Alexander will retire. Also lower was Adobe (ADBE), which dipped a bit over 2% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow fell 84.83, or 0.34%, to 25,090.48, the Nasdaq lost 14.66, or 0.19%, to 7,746.38, and the S&P 500 declined 3.07, or 0.11%, to 2,779.42.
