Stock Market Drops Over 700 Points To Close Under 24,000

Stocks took a major hit on Thursday, dropping below 24,000 as the pressure of a potential trade war with China escalates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped more than 724 points to close at 23,958. The S&P 500 dropped 68 points to close at 2,644, and the Nasdaq plummeted 179 points to finish the day at 7,167. 

President Trump signed an executive order that places new tariffs on Chinese imports. The tariffs are expected to cost around $60 billion dollars and ignited fears of a trade war between the two economic powerhouses. 

"Trump's protectionism is making investors nervous," Dario Perkins, managing director of global macro at TS Lombard, said in a note Thursday. "Past experience suggests these policies are flawed, while even moderate trade barriers could disrupt today's complex global supply chains."

Trump promised there could be more tariffs coming as his administration ramps up their efforts to curb intellectual property theft.

Tech stocks also saw another day of losses as investors worry about the long-term impact the Cambridge Analytica scandal will have on Facebook and other companies that collect massive amounts from their users. The news has attracted the attention of lawmakers in the United States and the European Union, who are looking into ways to regulate how Facebook handles customers data. 

"They're not going to write the regulation just for Facebook, said Shawn Cruz, manager of trader strategy at TD Ameritrade, noting regulators are going to target the entire sector. "That could turn into a headwind for these stocks."

 Photo: Getty Images


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