US stocks tumble in early trade after global markets slide

Associated Press

U.S. stocks slumped broadly in early trading today, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 500 points and extending the market's recent string of losses.

The latest wave of selling came as investors grew increasingly unsettled by the prospects for China's economy and the cost of President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies.

China reported on Friday its economy grew 6.5 percent from July to September from a year earlier, the slowest pace since early 2009. The world's second-largest economy was cooling even before the outbreak of a tariff war with Washington.

Technology companies, banks and industrial stocks led the market slide on Wall Street, which followed a steep sell-off in Chinese and other global markets.

The S&P 500 was down 54 points, or 2 percent, to 2,700 as of 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The index is on course for its worst month in more than three years. The Dow lost 507 points, or 2 percent, to 24,809.

The Nasdaq slid 184 points, or 2.5 percent, to 7,285. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 30 points, or 2 percent, to 1,509. The index is now down for the year.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 3.13 percent from 3.19 percent late Monday.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's volatility index, known as the VIX, or fear index, was up 23 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sank 3.1 percent and European markets traded lower.