Investors nervous following Donald Trump’s latest tariff on $300bn worth of Chinese goods were unloading shares in the world’s largest shipowner AP Moller-Maersk today.
The selldown of stock in a company which had been vocal about its concerns around the impact of trade tensions comes amid a broader market retreat.
Other major shipping stocks were also under selling pressure today after Trump’s latest actions, which has led to a drop in stock markets, currency and the price of oil.
Trump and China had called a pause on a trade war dating back to 2018. Hostilities resumed on Thursday with the US slapping a 10% charge on additional Chinese imports.
Analysts at Arctic Securities note the new tariff on $300bn worth of goods, added to the $250bn already under a 25% charge.
Maersk’s B-shares dropped by 4.3% in Copenhagen during morning trading and was down 3.35% at DKK 7,440 each at the time of writing.
Frans Hoyer, an analyst at Handelsbanken, told Bloomberg: “Maersk is a highly profiled and liquid stock and if investors want to sell on trade war concerns, they tend to sell Maersk shares.
“At the start of the year, Maersk was accused of being overly bearish with its view on the 2019 container market, but it’s turning out that the company was right.”
Maersk was not the only major shipping stock under selling pressure today.
Shipbroking giant Clarksons dropped by 4.13%, while BW LPG was down over 6% at the time of writing and John Fredriksen’s Golden Ocean slipped by around 3.5% this morning.
Analysts at Clarksons Platou Securities said Trump’s latest action followed China’s move not to buy two to three million tons of US soybeans.
“The news worsened the sentiment for the dry bulk market overall, with contract prices trading heavily down in the FFA market and dry bulk stocks taking a hit on the day,” Clarksons analysts led by Frode Morkedal said.
Despite the new twist, Trump kept the door open for further trade talks.
"We look forward to continuing our positive dialogue with China on a comprehensive Trade Deal, and feel that the future between our two countries will be a very bright one," he wrote on his Twitter feed.
