Stock market opens sharply lower as U.S.-China tariff battle intensifies

U.S. stocks fell sharply at the opening bell Monday after China retaliated for the Trump administration's decision last week to raise tariffs on Chinese imports. Beijing said it would move to raise tariffs as high as 25% on $60 billion of U.S. goods. President Donald Trump over the weekend and Monday insisted via Twitter that the U.S. has the upper hand in trade negotiations, while Chinese state media said Beijing would not bow to U.S. pressure. The potential for an impasse appeared to sour sentiment, contributing to a global equity selloff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 463 points, or 1.8%, to 25,480, while the S&P 500 declined 51 points, or 1.8%, to 2,831. The Nasdaq Composite shed 181 points, or 2.3%, to 7,736. All 30 Dow components traded lower, with shares of Apple Inc. down more than 4% as it and other China-sensitive companies led decliners; shares of Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. were each down more than 3%.

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