Boeing shares drop to 4-Month low as China tweet hints at lost sales

The shares dropped 3.4 per cent to $342.50 at 11:02 a.m. in New York, the lowest intraday price since Jan. 9. Caterpillar Inc., Apple Inc. and United Technologies Corp

Boeing fell to the lowest in four months as US-China trade tensions escalated and the influential editor of a Chinese tabloid warned that the company’s airplane sales in the country could be “reduced.”

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, which is published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, later told Bloomberg the tweet was his opinion and not the official government stance. Hu regularly weighs in on China’s international affairs, often citing unidentified sources he says are authoritative.

The tweet and jittery market response underscore the risks faced by Boeing, the largest US exporter, from the escalating US-China trade fracas. The