Stocks – Wall Street Opens Lower amid Trade Worries

Investing.com – Wall Street was lower at the open on Tuesday, pressured by concerns over the latest round of tariff hikes in the U.S.-China trade war and reports that the two sides were struggling to decide on the schedule for talks.

The Dow was down 260 points, or 1.0%, by 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT), while the S&P 500 fell 19 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite was off 36 points, or 0.5%.

The U.S. on Sunday began imposing 15% tariffs on more than $125 billion in Chinese imports. Meanwhile, China began imposing new duties on U.S. imports including crude oil, and on Monday filed a formal complaint over the U.S. tariffs at the World Trade Organization.

Although U.S. President Donald Trump has said both sides would still meet for talks later this month, Bloomberg reported on Monday that they had yet to agree on a date for the planned meeting.

Trump pressured China to make a deal on Tuesday, warning that negotiations will become more difficult if he is reelected in 2020.