Aug 5, 2019 - Economy & Business

Dow plunges 760 points as Wall Street suffers its worst day of 2019

Wall Street had its worst day of the year on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking 766 points, the S&P 500 down 2.98%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 3.47%.

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Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals

What's happening: Equity declines in the U.S., as well as the plunge in Treasury yields, reflect fears that President Trump's trade war with China is escalating.

  • The sell-off started on Thursday and continued on Friday after Trump announced a 10% tax on the remaining $300 billion worth of imports from China.
  • On Monday, China retaliated by allowing the yuan to weaken past 7-to-1 against the dollar, while also announcing that it would halt purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
  • The S&P 500 closed about 5% below the record high seen on July 12th.

Go deeper: Experts worry that the China trade war could go on for decades

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