US stocks ended with the Dow once plunging over 700 points, as escalating trade tensions between China and the US weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday erased 572.46 points, or 2.34 per cent, to 23,932.76, Xinhua news agency reported.
The S&P 500 decreased 58.38 points, or 2.19 per cent, to 2,604.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 161.44 points, or 2.28 per cent, to 6,915.11.
The VIX Index, which measures the market's expectation of future volatility, surged 13.09 to 21.42 in late trading.
US President Donald Trump had said that he asked the US Trade Representative to consider slapping $100 billion of additional tariffs on China, ratcheting up trade tensions and plunging economic growth into uncertainty.
China will fight "at any cost" and take "comprehensive countermeasures" if the US continues its unilateral, protectionist practices, a spokesperson with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.
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The moves came after both sides earlier this week unveiled a list of products worth $50 billion imported from the other side that will be subject to higher tariffs.
--IANS
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