NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks tumbled on Wednesday after lacklustre US employment data deepened recession worries amid grinding trade conflicts.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.8 per cent to close at 2,887.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.6 per cent to 7,785.25. Other factors behind the drop included fresh worries over a no-deal Brexit after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's latest plan drew a tepid response from Brussels and anxiety over potential new US tariffs on Europe following a World Trade Organisation ruling on subsidies for Airbus that cleared the US to impose new levies.
Stock losses were broad-based, with all 11 sectors in the S&P 500 finishing in the red and virtually all the blue-chip Dow index falling.