Sydney

PEACE proved fleeting in markets as investors fretted that Gary Cohn leaving the Trump administration prunes it of a key source of stability just as signs of a trade war are multiplying.

Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday as the departure of a key economic adviser to US President Donald Trump sharpened worries about a trade war. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 24,615.17, down 1.1 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent to 2,707.87, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6 per cent to 7,324.58.