Stocks Ended Sharply Lower as Trade Tensions Escalated

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday, as investors continued to monitor the escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 313.98 points, or 1.19%, to 26,164.04. The S&P 500 dropped 45.73 points, or 1.56%, to 2,893.06. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 132.52 points, or 1.67%, to 7,823.78.

Oil futures headed lower Tuesday as traders kept tabs on developments ahead of U.S.-China trade talks due later this week. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery lost 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $52.63 a barrel. December Brent crude settled 11 cents lower, down 0.2%, at $58.24 a barrel.

Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration was moving ahead with discussions around possible restrictions on capital flows into China, particularly investments made by U.S. government pension funds.