Stocks Tumbled at Open as U.S.-EU Trade War Escalated

U.S. stocks tumble at open on Tuesday, as trade tensions heat up between the U.S. and the European Union.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 213.27 points, or 0.81%, to 26,127.75. The S&P 500 was off 16.07 points, or 0.55%, to 2,879.70. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 21.91 points, or 0.28%, to 7,931.98.

U.S. oil futures prices held at five-month highs in firmer Tuesday action, as investors were cautious around potential supply outages tied to civil unrest in Libya. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up 10 cents, or less than 0.1%, lower at $64.28 a barrel. June Brent was down 30 cents, or 0.4%, at $70.70 a barrel.

The U.S. has said it will be slapping tariffs on $11 billion worth of EU goods after the World Trade Organization found that the EU’s subsidies to Airbus have had an adverse impact on the U.S.