Day of reckoning hits stocks as trade wars escalates

Equities collapsed on Monday as industrial and tech assets plunged on the rise in trade tensions between the US and China after China struck counter-action against US goods.

Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 2.38%, S&P 500 lost 2.41%, while Nasdaq declined by 3.41%.

Beijing said they would raise US $ 60 billion in US commodities on June 1, exacerbating fears that an "eye-for-eye" trade war is emerging between the two largest economies in the world.

Tariffs will cut China's gross domestic product by 0.5%, the US will lose 0.25%, while the global will fall by 0.15%.

With the introduction of Beijing tariffs, Donald Trump has given some hope to investors, saying he has not yet decided whether to tax $ 325 billion in Chinese commodities.

But it failed to support asset-sensitive rhetoric, with industrial and technological shares leading the others down.

Industrial fell by more than 3%, with Boeing and Caterpillar losing more than 4%.

Energy stocks also contributed to declines, falling more than 1% after US oil prices were under pressure because of fears that the trade war could hurt demand from China, the largest consumer of energy.

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