Dow posts triple-digit drop as trade war fears persist

Istanbul, June 19 (DHA) – U.S. stocks fell to start the week after the Trump administration moved forward with plans to impose tariffs on 50 billion dollars of Chinese goods – that tariff base may be raised up to 200 billion dollars as Trump administration threatens.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 103.01 points to 24,987.47. The S&P 500 ticked 5.79 points lower to 2,773.87. The Nasdaq Composite posted a slight gain, rising 0.65 points to 7,747.02.

As expected, China retaliated to the U.S.'s tariff plan with a matching amount of levies on U.S. goods, and now concerns are percolating that the back and forth will lead to an all-out trade war.

Economic data out on Monday included the National Association of Homebuilder’s housing market index for June, which fell by 2 points to 68. The gauge of future sales conditions fell to a seven-month low of 76 as builders are starting to fret about input costs.

Meanwhile, incoming New York Fed President John Williams spoke at a conference focused on reforming behavior in financial services.

In company news, Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com Inc.'s U.S.-listed shares were moving higher after Google announced that it had invested 550 million dollars in the company.

U.S. oil futures climbed 1.3 percent to 65.69 dollar a barrel.