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Saturday 22 april 2017 BUSINESS
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Losses in finance, health care send stocks lower Global finance officials argue

MARLEY JAY thinks a corporate tax cut is Stocks did well this week, benefits of free trade policy
AP Markets Writer more likely to pass Congress but they’ve wandered up
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. and become law than a and down over the last M. CRUTSINGER
stocks slumped Friday as tax cut for individuals, and few weeks. That may per- P. WISEMAN
financial and health care added that he wants the sist. Next Friday the govern- Associated Press
companies moved lower. administration to focus on ment will release its report WASHINGTON (AP) — The world’s major econo-
Industrial companies rose moves that can keep the on first-quarter GDP growth, mies are united in their belief that free trade delivers
as stocks continued the up- economy growing. something investors pay healthy economic growth. But they also agree that
and-down pattern they’ve The Standard & Poor’s 500 a lot of attention to. On more needs to be done for those left behind, and the
been stuck in for the last index lost 7.15 points, or 0.3 the same day, the federal new Trump administration is letting it be known that it
month. percent, to 2,348.69. The government is scheduled intends to make sure that America’s trade deals are
Stocks slumped in morning Dow Jones industrial aver- to reach its borrowing limit, fair for U.S. workers.
trading as banks fell in tan- age dipped 30.95 points, which could trigger a gov- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told
reporters Friday that if more isn’t done “we will see
more protectionism and countries retreating from glo-
balization.”
Schaeuble spoke with reporters Friday at the conclu-
sion of two days of talks among finance ministers and
central bank presidents from the Group of 20 major
world economies. Germany is chairing the G-20 this
year.
The G-20 discussions were being held in conjunction
with the spring meetings of the 189-nation Internation-
al Monetary Fund and its sister lending organization,
the World Bank, which are scheduled to conclude
Saturday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen were representing
the United States at the discussions.
In comments prepared for the IMF meeting, Mnuchin
said the United States wanted to see the IMF “more ro-
bustly fulfill its surveillance mandate,” which includes
monitoring the currency policies of IMF member na-
tions to make sure they do not manipulate their cur-
rencies to gain trade advantages.
President Donald Trump has vowed to sharply reduce
America’s huge trade deficits, which Trump says have
Trader Robert Arciero, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks cost the country millions of well-paying jobs.
slumped Friday as financial and health care companies moved lower. “In our view, excessively large trade surpluses, like ex-
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
cessively large trade deficits, are not conducive to
supporting a free and fair trading system,” Mnuchin
dem with bond yields and or 0.2 percent, to 20,547.76. ernment shutdown unless said in his remarks to the IMF panel.
interest rates and energy The Nasdaq composite fell Congress agrees to extend All of the talks this week have been dominated by
companies sank with oil 6.26 points, or 0.1 percent, it. concerns about growing anti-globalization sentiment
prices. to 5,910.52. The Russell 2000 “The stock market’s been represented by such events as Trump’s surprise elec-
Strong results from Honey- index of smaller-company willing to wait to see what, tion victory last November and the vote by Britain last
well and aviation electron- stocks fell 4.30 points, or 0.3 if anything, comes out of summer to exit the European Union.
ics maker Rockwell Collins percent, to 1,379.85. Washington,” said Wells At his news conference, Schaeuble dodged ques-
helped industrial firms. Toy Financial companies fell. Fargo’s Wren. He adds that tions about whether other countries expressed con-
maker Mattel plunged af- Professional services firm stock prices aren’t too high cerns during the G-20 meetings, which got underway
ter it reported is second Marsh & McLennan skid- even though they’ve been with a dinner Thursday night, about Trump’s America
disappointing quarter in a ded $1.41, or 1.9 percent, breaking records lately. First trade rhetoric. Schaeuble stressed widespread
row. to $71.88 and wealth man- Next week the market may agreement on the benefits of free trade.
Stocks climbed in the final agement company Mor- also react to the first round The G-20 finance officials generally agreed with the
minutes of trading and left gan Stanley dipped 70 of voting in the French assessment made by the IMF on Tuesday in its lat-
the Standard & Poor’s 500 cents, or 1.6 percent, to presidential election. Polls est economic outlook — that global growth should
index 1 percent higher for $41.80. Bank of America fell between the top four can- pick up this year, helped by improving conditions in
the week. 36 cents, or 1.6 percent, to didates are fairly close, and the United States and China, the world’s two biggest
President Donald Trump $22.7. a good showing by far-right economies. Schaeuble warned that economic poli-
gave the market a fleet- Bond prices rose early candidate Marine Le Pen cymakers needed “to prepare ourselves” for the end
ing boost in the afternoon on but wound up little or leftist Jean-Luc Melen- of easy money policy from the world’s central banks.
when he said his admin- changed. The yield on the chon, as opposed to their “This will be challenging,” he said.
istration will release a tax 10-year Treasury note re- more centrist rivals, could In the U.S., the Federal Reserve has raised short-term
reform proposal next week mained at 2.24 percent. unsettle investors. The top interest rates twice since December, is on target for
that includes a large tax Health care companies two candidates will ad- more hikes this year and is weighing whether to begin
cut. He didn’t provide de- moved lower. Biotech vance to a final round of selling part of its vast portfolio of bonds, a move that
tails. drugmaker Alexion Phar- voting in early May. also could drive up rates.
“I don’t think anything’s ac- maceuticals lost $1.90, or Mattel, the largest toy Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in
tually going to happen or 1.6 percent, to $116.82 and company in the U.S., said its a CNBC interview on the sidelines of the meetings that
be implemented any time Merck declined 66 cents, sales dropped 15 percent he had not seen anything yet to change the view that
soon,” said Scott Wren, se- or 1.1 percent, to $61.89. in the fiscal first quarter as it the Fed will raise rates two more times this year, but he
nior global equity strategist Pharmacy benefits man- continued to deal with ef- said the actual rate hikes “are dependent on what
for the Wells Fargo Invest- ager Express Scripts dipped fects of poor sales over the happens to the economy.”q
ment Institute. He said he 59 cents to $66.46. holiday season.q