Stocks dive as US proposes more China tariffs

STOCKS ARE ending the week the way they began it: tumbling as investors worry that tariffs and harsh words between the United States and China will touch off a trade war that derails the global economy. That came with the US considering duties on an additional $100 billion in goods imported from China.

The stock market has changed direction again and again this week as investors tried to get a sense of whether a trade dispute between the two nations will escalate. Technology companies, banks, industrial, and healthcare stocks are sinking. The market didn’t get any help from a March jobs report that was weaker than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 704 points, or 2.9 per cent, to 23,801 as of 3 p.m. Eastern time.

The S&P 500, which many index funds track, lost 69 points, or 2.6 per cent, to 2,593. The Nasdaq composite slid 177 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 6,899. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 37 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 1,505.

The administration spent the past few days reassuring investors that it was not rushing into a trade war, and China’s government has done the same. But late Thursday, President Donald Trump ordered the US Trade Representative to consider placing tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese imports. China said it would “counterattack with great strength” if that happens.

Stocks dipped further after Trump criticised the World Trade Organization on Twitter yesterday morning, and the losses worsened in the afternoon.