Founder of world��s largest hedge fund says ��first day of the war�� with China has begun

Has a trade war started? The stock market doesn��t suggest that a full-scale trade fight between China and the U.S. has erupted, but a tweet from Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, implies otherwise.

Friday afternoon, Dalio tweeted: ��Today is the first day of the war with China.��

Today is the first day of the war with China.

— Ray Dalio (@RayDalio) July 6, 2018

The tweet from the founder of the world��s largest hedge fund, which manages some $160 billion, comes after the U.S. slapped levies on $34 billion of China��s exports at midnight, and President Donald Trump threatened further action.

In response, Beijing issued in-kind tariffs on 545 items, including cash crops and cars, intensifying a long-simmering dispute between the world��s largest economic superpowers, which threatens to roil global economies.

Read: Trade-war tracker: Here are the new levies, imposed and threatened

China��s Commerce Ministry said the U.S. is ��launching the largest trade war in economic history to date.��

Related story: How will investors know if there��s a full-blown trade war? Here��s what Wall Street says

However, stock investors appeared to mostly shake off the recent developments in global trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.32% S&P 500 index SPX, +0.74% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.24% trading near Friday��s best intraday levels.

Wall Street was fixated on labor-market data for June that showed that a better-than-expected 213,000 jobs were created last month.

Check out: Why a major trade war could mean a ��full-blown recession��

However, some worry that average investors may be underestimating the potential for a protracted China-U.S. spat to deliver a more significant and blow to the domestic economy.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management recently wrote in a recent report that analysis suggesting that the impact of trade clashes will be de minimus don��t fully account for the ��risks associated with America��s increasingly aggressive position on trade,�� Ryan Vlastelica noted in an article earlier this week.

By the looks of Dalio��s tweet, the investment professional may think investors are underplaying the potential impact as well.