*By Michael Teich*
Investors may be concerned that current trade tensions will escalate into a full-blown trade war, but such fears could be overblown, said JPMorgan global market strategist Alex Dryden.
“It’s not as bad as it seems,” he said in an interview with Cheddar Wednesday. “Cooler heads will prevail.”
The Dow Industrials marked a 7-day losing streak Wednesday, the longest losing stretch the index has seen since March 2017. While the threat of a potential trade war has been lingering for weeks on Wall Street, it was most recently ignited when President Donald Trump said he was considering taxing an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Dryden said the U.S.’s end game is to open up the Chinese economy, but if the U.S. does ultimately find itself in a trade war, “the consumer is the end loser,” said Dryden.
“It drives up inflation and drives up prices.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/stocks-stabilize-as-u-s-china-tensions-persist).
Stocks dipped Friday morning after the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury crossed 5% for the first time in 16 years and also following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.
