Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 313 points
The Dow fell 313.99 points, or 1.19% to close at 26,164.04. The S&P 500 declined by 1.56% to end the day at 2,893.06. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.67% to 7,823.78. Stocks fell as hopes for progress between China and the U.S. on the trade front dimmed.
Trade fears ding stocks
Stocks fell after the U.S. added some of China's top artificial intelligence companies to its trade blacklist. The move was meant as punishment for Beijing's treatment of predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it would retaliate to the AI companies being blacklisted. A statement from the U.S. State Department saying the U.S. would ban visas for Chinese officials linked to the abuses also pressured stocks.
Wall Street also contended with mixed reports about China's expectations for the upcoming trade talks with the U.S. The South China Morning Post reported Vice Premier Liu He will not have the title of "special envoy" for the next round of talks. The report characterized this as a signal President Xi Jinping had not given Liu any specific instructions. However, Chinese state-owned Global Times said China is "sincerely" looking forward to reaching a trade deal with the U.S.
Banks, chipmakers fall
Bank shares and chipmakers led the way lower on Wall Street. Bank of America, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase all fell more than 2%. The VanEck Vector Semiconductor ETF (SMH) dropped more than 2% as Nvidia fell 3.85% and Qualcomm fell 4.57%.
What happens next?
On top of all the U.S.-China trade headlines, traders will look through the minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting, which are scheduled for release at 2 p.m. ET. Wholesale trade and job openings data are also on deck for Wednesday. Read more here.
