US: Stocks tumble as Trump hints China tariffs imminent

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished decisively lower on Monday after President Donald Trump said an announcement on new tariffs on China was imminent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent to close at 26,062.12, near its session low.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.6 per cent to 2,888.80, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.4 per cent to 7,895.79.

Mr Trump promised "some very positive news" on and said that "it will be a lot of money coming into the coffers."

He was apparently referring to plans discussed earlier by White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow on the looming imposition of tariffs on another US$200 billion of Chinese imports.

China has vowed to retaliate against any new tariffs by the United States, raising worries among investors of an all-out trade war.

Mr Kudlow declined to specify details of the expected announcement but noted that reports indicating Mr Trump would unveil 10 per cent duties on $200 billion in imports as soon as Monday were "more or less correct."

Technology shares were under pressure due to worries of fallout from a US-China trade war. Apple dropped 2.7 per cent, Google-parent Alphabet 1.4 per cent and Microsoft 1.1 per cent.

Amazon fell 3.2 per cent following a Wall Street Journal report that the company was probing employees suspected of leaking data in exchange for bribes.

AFP