US close: Markets finish red as trade consternation continues

US stocks finished well into the red on Monday, following on from heavy losses seen across Asian indices overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 2.9% at 25,717.74, the S&P 500 was off 2.98% at 2,844.74, and the Nasdaq 100 lost 3.6% to 7,415.69.

At the open, the Dow was 584.97 points lower as - in addition to tumultuous Asian trading - US treasuries were also seeing some big moves, with the yield on the closely watched 10-year note falling to as low as 1.768%.

Investors were also still focussed on tensions between Washington and Beijing, which re-escalated last week when Donald Trump surprised everyone with the news that the US would be slapping 10% tariffs on a further $300bn-worth with of Chinese imports on 1 September.

In response, on Monday Beijing instructed its state-owned companies to halt imports of US agricultural products in response to President Trump's fresh tariff proposals on Chinese goods, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the report stated that privately run Chinese crushers that had received tariff waivers on American soybeans from the Chinese government have turned to buying Brazilian soybeans due to continued trade uncertainty, with the waters having been further muddied by fresh economic threats from Washington.

The ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade between the two global superpowers sent the Chinese yuan lower on Monday, with the currency breaking the key psychologically important level of seven yuan-per-dollar, a threshold which was last breached during the global financial crisis in 2008.

Following the move, Trump said: "China dropped the price of their currency to an almost historic low. It’s called 'currency manipulation.'

“Are you listening Federal Reserve? This is a major violation which will greatly weaken China over time!”

On the data front, activity in America's services sector slowed last month, contrary to economists' forecasts, amid a slowdown in output, new orders and price gains, although hiring did pick up.

The Institute for Supply Management's services sector Purchasing Managers' Index fell from a reading of 55.1 for June to 53.7 in July.

Economists had forecast a reading of 55.5.

In the wake of the increased tensions between the US and China, Apple shares slid 5.23% and Nike dropped 2.67%, while retail stocks were widely in the red, with Etsy and Abercrombie & Fitch down 9.66% and 4.11% respectively.

Office Depot pared back some earlier losses but still ended the session down 4.84%, while Macy's was off 3.1% and Best Buy retreated 3.49%.

The S&P 500 had recorded its worst five day drop of 2019 during the previous week, shedding 3.1%, while the Dow had its second-worst week year-to-date, dropping by 2.6%.

Dow Jones - Risers

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $55.24 -0.63%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $130.14 -0.69%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $51.65 -1.30%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.10 -1.60%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $118.74 -1.65%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $210.49 -1.88%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $245.00 -2.00%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $143.94 -2.04%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $70.26 -2.05%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.34 -5.23%
Visa Inc. (V) $168.86 -4.82%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $140.76 -4.41%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $125.82 -3.87%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $201.64 -3.67%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $51.37 -3.53%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.97 -3.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $132.21 -3.43%
3M Co. (MMM) $164.71 -3.42%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $204.99 -3.40%

S&P 500 - Risers

Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $83.83 5.10%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $204.53 1.95%
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) $81.01 1.68%
Linde Plc (LIN) $190.60 1.54%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $37.42 1.38%
Wisconsin Energy Corp. (WEC) $87.03 0.54%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $342.81 0.48%
Raytheon Co. (RTN) $179.78 0.35%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $76.31 0.22%
Welltower Inc (WELL) $84.82 0.09%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $75.78 -7.66%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $28.80 -7.37%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $111.10 -7.18%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $21.09 -6.97%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $150.79 -6.45%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $27.84 -6.42%
E*TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) $43.20 -6.25%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $91.45 -6.20%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $80.86 -6.03%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $46.10 -5.96%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (TFCFA) $49.69 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $179.20 0.00%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (TFCF) $49.61 0.00%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $92.88 -1.05%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $44.44 -1.09%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $379.74 -1.28%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $31.72 -1.43%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $175.56 -1.59%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $92.03 -1.61%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $363.62 -1.71%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $33.50 -8.07%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $111.10 -7.18%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $100.15 -7.06%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $574.25 -6.58%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.17 -6.57%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $150.79 -6.45%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $46.10 -5.96%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $188.37 -5.52%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $58.96 -5.50%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $67.50 -5.29%