Stocks Opened Sharply Lower on Trade Fears

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday, as the Trump administration’s plans to announce new trade restraints against China renewed fears about a potential trade war that could dent economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 240.59 points, or 0.97%, to 24,441.72. The S&P 500 lost 24.71 points, or 0.91%, to 2,687.22. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 68.36 points, or 0.93%, to 7,276.93.

Oil prices retreated from a seven-week high Thursday, caught between the unexpected fall in U.S. inventories and the country’s ever-rising production. May West Texas Intermediate crude traded little changed at $65.16 a barrel. May Brent crude slipped 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $69.37 a barrel.

Facebook Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg, breaking a media silence on the latest consumer imbroglio to engulf the social media company, vowed to inform each of his two billion-plus users if there’s a chance their personal data was compromised.

Google is working on blockchain-related technology to support its cloud business and head off competition from emerging startups that use the heavily-hyped technology to operate online in new ways, according to people familiar with the situation.