US stock futures fall as China blames US on trade talks flop

[SYDNEY] US stock-index futures slid after China's government blamed the US for the latest collapse in trade talks.

Contracts on the S&P 500 Index lost as much as 0.7 per cent after Beijing released a white paper on Sunday saying the escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies hasn't "made America great again" - appropriating President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign slogan. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell as much as 0.8 per cent, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined as much as 0.8 per cent.

The S&P 500 Index sank 1.3 per cent on Friday in New York after Mr Trump threatened to place escalating tariffs on Mexico, as US stocks capped their first monthly decline since last December's market rout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its sixth weekly loss, the longest slump since 2011.

China contends that Washington's trade moves have done serious harm to the US economy by increasing production costs, causing prices hikes, damaging growth and people's livelihoods and creating barriers to US exports to China.

BLOOMBERG