US stocks open lower on US-China trade spat, Dow -0.9%

New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks dropped early Friday as the latest barbs between the US and China worsened trade war fears and US jobs growth disappointed in March.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9 percent to 24,273.94.

The broad-based S&P 500 also dropped 0.9 percent to 2,639.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.1 percent to 6,999.04.

Trade war anxieties were back on the front burner after President Donald Trump threatened late Thursday to impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods, provoking strong criticism from Beijing.