US benchmarks close lower
Trade war fears back
All 100 Nasdaq constituents down
Tech sector falls
US shares came off intra-day losses but still posted a huge decline on the day.
The Nasdaq shed over 193 at 6,870, with all 100 of its constituents finishing up in negative territory.
The S&P 500 shed almost 59 points at 2,581.
The benchmark Dow Jones closed 458 points down at 23,644.
In oil, US crude finished down 2.82% to US$63.11 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX closed down around 147 points at 15,219.
Meanwhile in stocks, Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) was top riser on S&P 500, up 4.42% after the Walmart (NYSE:WMT) takeover chatter.
Top loser on Nasdaq was computer giant Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), down 5.91% to US$49m, while Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) lost 5.22% and 5.19% respectively.
MID-SESSION
US stocks were crashing at mid-session as traders fretted about possible a possible global trade war and the tech sector weighed.
The Dow Jones shed 527 points at 23,575, while the Nasdaq also recorded a triple digit loss, off 187 at 6,877.
The broader S&P 500 tanked over 62 points at 5,278.
US crude lost 2.83% to US$63.10 a barrel
China has fired back at president Trump after his steel and aluminum tariffs by imposing tariffs of up to 25% on 128 US imports worth a total of US$3bn.
As well as tariffs on pork and scrap aluminum, new measures from the People's Republic included 15% tariffs on Apples and almonds.
To get some kind of sense of scale, US farmers sent nearly US$20bn (£14bn) of goods to China last year.
With Gary Cohn and Rex Tillerson no longer around to provide counsel, the trade wars are on.
China threatens tariffs on 128 US exports. https://t.co/TDJKNKlBxy
— Nick Knudsen ???????? (@DemWrite) 2 April 2018
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares were down 4.51% to US$1,381 as Trump took another pop at the e-commerce giant, while Twitter (NASDAQ:TWTR) shed 2.07% to US$28.40.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB.) shares were down 2.14% to US$156.37 as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said he didn't appreciate how Apple chief Tim Cook criticized the social network’s business strategy of monetizing user information.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) lost 2.53% to US$259.39 as Elon Musk's quip about the firm going bankrupt was, shall we say..ill timed.
.In Canada, the TSX was also much lower, down over 164 points, or 1.1%, to 15,203.
The Canadian dollar also lost 0.19 cents against the US dollar at 77.4 US cents.
Oil stocks Enbridge Inc (TSE:ENB), dwon 2.17% and TransCanada Corp (TSE:TRP), down 2.03% to C$52.20, were among the biggest drag on the energy sector as crude prices slipped.
OPEN
US benchmarks started lower on Monday - the first trading day of the second quarter.
The Dow Jones is down over 23 points at 24,080.
The broader based S&P 500 shed over 18 at 2,622.
The Nasdaq lost 89 at 6,974.
US crude (West Texas Intermediate) shed 1.22% to US$64.15 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Canada’s largest market - the TSX - opened lower as China’s move to impose additional duties on 128 US products revved up fears on a global trade war.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index opened the week and the month of April down over 77 points at 15,289.
On the corporate front in the USA, shares in health insurer Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) was a notable gainer, adding 6.48% to US$286.25 after reports suggested that behemoth Walmart is involved in early talks about a possible acquisition of the firm, or a potentially deeper partnership.
In tech, and going the other way, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was down 3.61% to US$1,395.02 as the share price continue to feel the weight of President Trump's negative comments about the firm.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares shed almost 7% to US$247.64 as the stock reels from various factors, including the fatal crash in California, concerns about Model 3 production and jitters over its debt.