Dollar Slides as China Raises Tariffs, US Stock Slip

U.S. stocks tumbled on Monday, weighed down by Amazon.com after U.S. President Donald Trump again attacked the online retailer, while the dollar slid as China raised tariffs on U.S. products in an escalating spat between the world’s two biggest economies, according to Reuters.

China bumped tariffs by up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts, in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel.

Trading was light as major European markets were closed for the Easter Monday holiday. Markets in Australia and Hong Kong also were shut.

Shares of Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet dominated trading on MSCI’s all-country world stock index, which fell 0.91 percent. The four companies were also the biggest drag on the benchmark S&P 500 index.

Trump’s comments on Amazon weighed on the equity market but further news on U.S.-China trade later this week is drawing investor interest, said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co Inc in Boston.

“Everybody is bracing for that,” Kleintop said of expected U.S. tariffs on $50 billion to $60 billion worth of annual imports from China that will likely intensify U.S.China tensions.

The Trump administration will unveil by Friday a list of advanced technology Chinese imports targeted for U.S. tariffs to punish Beijing over technology transfer policies.