U.S. Stocks Plunge on Concerns About Economy, Trade Talks with China

U.S. stocks sank on Tuesday over concerns about the future course of the country’s economy and the prospect of U.S.-China trade negotiations.

The 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 635.13 points, or 2.46 percent, to 25,191.30 at around 2:20 p.m., after briefly shedding more than 800 points.

The broader S&P 500 fell 66.07 points, or 2.37 percent, to 2,724.30, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index was down 196.60 points, or 2.64 percent, at 7,244.91.

Many investors turned risk-averse as concerns increased about the U.S. economy, triggering heavy selling across the board, brokers said.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Saturday to a 90-day cease-fire in their trade war, in which the two countries will talk about technology and intellectual property rights issues.

Washington has threatened to raise existing 10 percent tariffs to 25 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods if they fail to reach an accord.

==Kyodo