Stocks - Wall Street Slips as U.S. Consumer Wobbles; Trump's China Speech Eyed

By Yasin Ebrahim 

Investing.com – Wall Street fell on Friday as investors digested data showing consumer confidence suffered its biggest drop ever and awaited President Donald Trump's speech on China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.93%, or 236 points, the S&P 500 slipped 0.57%, while the Nasdaq Composite was flat.

The consumer, the backbone of the economy, reined in spending like never before in April, as shuttered businesses limited consumer opportunities to spend.

Consumer spending fell 13.6% to in April, the steepest since records began, the Commerce Department reported Friday. But some are optimistic the reopening of the economy will trigger a rebound in the coming months as personal savings surged by a record 33%.

"The savings cushion will provide much-needed support for consumer spending as the economy begins to reopen," Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) said in a note.

Rising U.S.-China tensions kept investors on edge ahead of an eagerly awaited speech from Trump at 2:00 PM ET (18:00 GMT). The president is expected to rebuke China over its human rights violations and its recent power grab in Hong Kong, with many fearing fresh sanctions on Beijing.

Monetary policy was also in focus as Federal Reserve Jerome Powell confirmed that the central bank is just days away from rolling out its Main Street lending facility. Powell also reiterated the negative interest rates are not in the Fed's toolbox as the evidence over its efficacy remains “ambiguous."

In tech, meanwhile, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) remained in focus, down 3% after Trump signed an executive order late Thursday that aimed to weaker the legal protections for social media platforms.