Dow Jones Dips With U.S. Set To Retain Trump China Tariffs; Biden

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as the U.S. looks set to maintain tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump on China imports. Energy stocks Diamondback Energy (FANG) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) passed buy points as oil prices hit a seven-year high.

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Tech stocks were battered lower. Apple (AAPL) was the worst Dow stock, while Nvidia (NVDA) and Facebook (FB) plunged. HubSpot (HUBS), Zscaler (ZS), Shopify (SHOP) and Square (SQ) all made bearish moves.

U.S. Set To Retain Trump Tariffs On China

U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai promised frank talks with Chinese counterpart Liu He over the phase 1 deal and trade concerns. She said China has not adhered to all its purchase commitments.

“Above all else, we must defend — to the hilt — our economic interests,” Tai told an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. “That means taking all steps necessary to protect ourselves against the waves of damage inflicted over the years through unfair competition.”

Tariffs imposed by President Trump are to be maintained, though a process for American companies to seek exemptions from tariffs on goods for which there are no viable alternatives will reopen.

Biden Tells ‘Disgraceful’ GOP To Move On Debt

President Joe Biden slammed the GOP over the debt ceiling. He attacked the Republican Party for frustrating Democrat attempts to raise or suspend the U.S. borrowing limit.

He accused GOP leaders of “threatening to use their power to prevent us from doing our job, saving the economy from a catastrophic event.”

Biden accused Republicans of being “hypocritical, dangerous and disgraceful,” and said they should, “just get out of the way.”

The President, who wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling this week, was angered that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had ignored a White House request to allow Democrats to pass legislation to raise the ceiling with a simple majority.

Nasdaq Dives As Tech Stocks Suffer

The Nasdaq was getting hammered amid weakness in tech stocks. It fell more than 2%, losing ground on its 50-day moving average. The index pared some earlier losses. The S&P 500 also struggled amid a broad sell-off, falling around 1.3%.

The S&P sectors were nearly all red, with energy and utilities the only areas making gains. Technology was faring worst of all.

Small caps were also falling, with the Russell 2000 dipping about 0.9%.

Growth stocks were given the worst spanking by the bears, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) falling nearly 3%.

Dow Jones Today: Apple Stock Drops, Merck Leads

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fared best out of the major indexes, but still closed…