Stocks mixed, oil plunges

Markets were mixed on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent while the Shanghai Composite plunged 2.5 percent but the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.4 percent.

Chinese stocks fell as US-China trade tensions were fuelled by a report that the US has been trying to persuade its foreign allies to avoid using China’s Huawei Technologies Co.’s telecoms equipment because of security concerns just ahead of next week's trade talks between the two countries.

“The trade tension story has moved past the point of a quick resolution,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group. “We expect this risk to continue to be a theme in 2019 which will continue to weigh on appetite for riskier assets.”

Oil fell sharply. West Texas Intermediate crude plunged 7.7 percent and Brent tumbled 6.1 percent.

“The market continues to be worried about slowing global growth,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya.

However, Cavanaugh thinks the US economy remains healthy and that consumers are “out there spending money”.