USA stocks Opens a New Window. continued their decline on Monday, wih the
Dow Jones plunging 700 points, as Trump slams
China for “currency manipulation” following the weakening of the yuan Opens a New Window. by the country.
Last week, China threatened to retaliate if
President Trump's planned tariff hikes go ahead.
China allowed its yuan to sink to an 11-year low, fueling concern Beijing might use its currency as a weapon in the tariff war.
In London, the FTSE closed down 2.5 percent, Germany's DAX ended the day down 1.8 percent and France's CAC fell 2 percent.
In
Asia,
Tokyo closed down 1.6 percent. Hong Kong declined 2.9 percent and Shanghai fell 1.6 percent.
Trump ratcheted things up last week with a surprise announcement of 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, effective Sept. 1.
Trump's announcement surprised investors after the White House said Beijing promised to buy more farm goods. It came as their latest trade talks ended in Shanghai with no sign of a deal. Talks are expected to resume in September.
Shares of Boeing and Caterpillar fell along with tech stocks such as Apple, Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, Micron Technology and Intel.
It will be another busy week for earnings. Dow member Disney will report Tuesday. In all, 59 companies in the S&P 500 will announce results.
On the economic agenda, the U.S. service sector expanded at the slowest pace in nearly three years in July, a sign that a key segment of the economy continues to cool. The Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 53.7 in July from 55.1 in June.