Market Turmoil as US-China Trade War Intensifies

In a startling development, major US stock markets opened with significant losses on Friday, as global equities were thrown into chaos. This downturn was triggered by China's latest move to impose counter-levies on all US goods, exacerbating fears of a potential recession and the broader impacts of the ongoing trade dispute between the US and other leading global economies.

Significant Drops Across Major Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a sharp decline of 2.34%, with Caterpillar's shares plummeting by 6.12%. Similarly, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 saw declines of 2.65% and 2.4%, respectively. Notably, HealthCare Technologies suffered a drastic fall of 15.92% on both indexes.

Currency Markets React

On the currency front, the euro weakened against the dollar, dropping 0.30% to trade at $1.10208 by 9:28 am ET, reflecting the broader market unease.