Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in the negative territory on Friday with investors staying away from risky assets amid resurfacing concerns over the U.S. – China trade conflict. U.S. President Trump, who earlier this month said that there wouldn’t be a final deal until he met with Chinese President Xi, reportedly does not have any plans to meet Xi Jinping before the March 1 deadline. Reflecting the dismal mood, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, is up nearly 5% on the day.
While all the 11 S&P 500 major sectors are falling in the early trade, the consumer discretionary and financials are down 0.66% and 0.55%, respectively, to lead the losses. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was erasing 0.45% on the day, the S&P 500 was losing 0.33% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%.