• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 248.91 points, or 1 percent, to end at 24,758.12, the S&P 500 lost 15.83 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,749.48 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 14.20 points, or 0.19 percent, to 7,496.81.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after President Donald Trump sought to impose fresh tariffs on China, intensifying fears of a trade war that could raise costs and hurt overseas sales for U.S. companies.
Also weighing on investor sentiment was data that showed U.S. retail sales fell for a third straight month in February, pointing to a slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter.
.png)
• Asian markets edged slightly lower on Thursday, with regional stock indexes recording slight losses after Wall Street declined amid concerns over heightened trade tensions.
• The Nikkei 225 eased 0.18 percent as the yen firmed. Major exporters were mixed, with Toyota up 0.29 percent and Sony higher by 0.44 percent, while the manufacturing sector was downbeat. The broader Topix was off by 0.2 percent.
Against the yen, the dollar extended losses to trade at 106.11, below the 106.2 handle seen in the last session.
• Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi slipped 0.12 percent. Several blue chip names notched early gains despite the broader market sentiment, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.35 percent.
• Asian stock indexes had closed lower in the last session as markets digested news of Rex Tillerson's ouster from the State Department and amid talk of potential additional U.S. tariffs. The latter overshadowed the release of better-than-expected industrial output and fixed-asset investment data out of China.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
Thai
Eng