Markets wobble as Trump-Xi talks offset by Musk row

MARKETS stuttered on yesterday as optimism from “very positive” talks between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping was wiped out by the stunning public row between the US leader and Elon Musk.

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The much-anticipated discussions between the heads of the world’s biggest economies fuelled hopes for an easing of tensions following Trump's “Liberation Day” global tariff blitz that targeted Beijing particularly hard.

However, investors remained wary after an extraordinary social media row between Trump and billionaire former aide Musk that saw the two trade insults and threats and sent Wall Street into the red.

Wall Street’s three main indexes ended down as Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla tanked more than 14 percent and the president threatened his multibillion-dollar government contracts.