US stocks open lower on escalating US-China trade dispute

NEW YORK – The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):

9:35 a.m.

Stocks are opening sharply lower on Wall Street as an escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China poses a threat to global economic growth and corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 500 points at the open, with energy, industrial and materials sectors leading the decline.

Deere & Co. fell 4.3 per cent and Caterpillar dropped almost 3 per cent. Boeing was down 3.3 per cent.

The sell-off was triggered after China announced a list of U.S. products that might be subject to a 25 per cent tariff in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods.

European and Asian markets also fell sharply.

Gold, considered a safe-haven investment, rose nearly 1 per cent.