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US stocks open lower as fears of trade war escalation knocks confidence
US stocks tumbled after the opening bell today as investor anxiety mounted ahead of crunch trade talks between Washington and Beijing.
Optimism among traders was knocked this afternoon after the US blacklisted almost 30 Chinese groups from buying US-made goods.
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The tech-focused Nasqad index dipped 1.25 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell one per cent, while the S&P 500 slid 1.2 per cent.
In the latest escalation between the two largest economies, the US announced on Monday that a list of Chinese tech companies would be blacklisted over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.