Investing.com – Wall Street slumped on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump called off a planned summit meeting with North Korea.
The S&P 500 was down 15 points or 0.57% to 2,717.78 as of 9:49 AM ET (13:49 GMT) while the Dow composite decreased over 108 points or 0.44% to 24,778.03 and tech heavy NASDAQ Composite fell 37 points or 0.50% to 7,388.92.
The White House said in a statement that it would be "inappropriate" to have a planned summit at this time. Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un were set to meet in Singapore on June 12 to discuss possible denuclearization.
Investors were also weary of U.S.-China trade talks, with U.S. President Donald Trump concerning new tariffs of 25% on imported vehicles. Chinese officials have said they have not pledged to cut the country's trade surplus, which has increased uncertainty over trade talks between the two countries.
In other news, the number of people who filed unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose to a seven-week high last week but still remained consistent with a strengthening labor market.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) was among the top gainers after the morning bell, rising 1.97%, while Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) gained 1.14% after the U.S. Department of Commerce started an investigation into automobile imports and whether or not they threaten national security.
Elsewhere Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slipped 1.19% while Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) slumped 1.50% after it announced greenhouse gas reduction measures. Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) was down 6.00% after the retailer failed to provide an update on its full year forecast.
In Europe stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 41 points or 0.32% while in France the CAC 40 decreased half a point or 0.51% and in London, the FTSE 100 was down 23 points or 0.30%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 lost four points or 0.13% while Spain’s IBEX 35 rose five points or 0.05%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.74% to $1,299.10 a troy ounce while crude oil futures decreased 1.52% to $70.75 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.19% to 93.73.