New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange receded at the opening Friday, weighted by the relaunch of the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing and questions about the trajectory of US monetary policy.

Around 13:45 GMT, its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, lost 0.41% to 26,473.15 points.

Nasdaq, with its strong technological color, was down 0.86% at 8,040.98 points and the broad S & P 500 index down by 0.60% at 2,935.86 points.

Wall Street had already finished sharply in the red on Thursday, as indices subsided suddenly after US President Donald Trump announced, unexpectedly, new trade sanctions against China: the Dow Jones fell by 1.05% and the Nasdaq of 0.79%.

"Just when we thought the market was going to let us spend a quiet summer weekend with the important meeting of the US Central Bank (Fed) in the rear-view mirror and with the gradual slowdown in the earnings season, we were hit by a tweet that has gone around the world, "says Art Hogan of National Holdings.

In markets barely delivered decisions and comments by the Fed, not enough accommodating in their eyes, Donald Trump has indeed set fire to the powders by stating that his administration would extend the additional tariffs to all imports from China. Beijing quickly threatened to retaliate.

Before the presidential tweets, the market was of the opinion that if the negotiations dragged on, "at least the two sides had returned to the negotiating table" and that the threat of additional tariffs was suspended, Hogan said.

"This fragile truce is now behind us and we have entered a new phase of the trade war," he adds.

Observers are particularly concerned that the new taxes directly affect the US portfolio and significantly affect the economy of the world's largest economy.

This news also rebels the cards with regard to the future decisions of the Fed, which could therefore be required to act more strongly than expected to support growth.

In this regard, investors monitored the publication of the monthly labor market report in the United States on Friday, which showed that the unemployment rate had remained stable in July at 3.7% and that job creation had declined a little less than expected by analysts.

The average hourly wage increased by 3.2% year-on-year, which helped support household consumption.

"As a whole it is a good report, which means that it does not bring enough bad news to convince the Fed to lower rates again in September," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.

But as trade tensions have escalated at the same time, it has become even more difficult to anticipate what the institution could do next month, he added.

© 2019 AFP