Stocks fell sharply on Monday after China decided to raise tariffs on some U.S. goods as the ongoing trade war between the world's largest economies intensifies.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 617.38 points, or 2.4%, to 25,324.99, posting its worst day since January 3.
The S&P 500 dropped 69.53 points, or 2.4%, to 2,811.87, also its worst day since early January.
The NASDAQ Composite slumped 269.92 points, or 3.4%, to 7,647.02, its biggest one-day loss of the year
China will hike tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, starting on June 1. The goods targeted include a broad range of agricultural products. This comes after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports last week.
China said in a statement that the U.S.' decision jeopardized the interests of both countries and does not meet the “general expectations of the international community,” according to a Google translation.
Trade bellwether Caterpillar fell 4.6% while Apple dropped 5.8%. Boeing shares declined 4.9% amid speculation the airplane maker could be singled out by China in the trade war. The utilities and real estate sectors, considered by investors to be defensive spaces in the market, were the only ones in the S&P 500 to close higher on Monday.
UnitedHealth Group and Chevron are the only two Dow members to have posted gains since trade tensions ratcheted up last week. In that time, the two shares are up around 3%. Meanwhile, the Dow is down more than 4%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury moved sharply higher, lowering yields to 2.40% from Friday's 2.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved downward 82 cents to $60.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $13.30 to $1,300.70 U.S. an ounce.