Dow plunges over 700 points on trade concerns

NEW YORK - US stocks traded sharply lower on Friday, with the Dow tumbling over 700 points in the afternoon trading, as escalating trade tensions between China and the United States weighed on the market.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has asked the US Trade Representative to consider slapping 100 billion US dollars of additional tariffs on China, ratcheting up trade tensions and plunging economic growth into uncertainty.

China will fight "at any cost" and take "comprehensive countermeasures" if the United States continues its unilateral, protectionist practices, a spokesperson with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

The moves came after both sides earlier this week unveiled a list of products worth 50 billion US dollars imported from the other side that will be subject to higher tariffs.

The disappointing nonfarm jobs report also dented investor sentiment. US total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 103,000 in March, way below market consensus of an increase of 193,000 jobs, the US Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent in March.

Investors also paid close attention to the latest speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Powell said on Friday that the central bank will likely need to keep raising interest rates to keep inflation under control.