Renewed fears of a trade war undermine US equities

• US President Trump plans to trim the deficit with China by $100B.
• DJIA poised to extend its decline, S&P doesn't look so bearish.

Wall Street had another bad day, with renewed fears about a trade war undermining risk sentiment. The Dow Jones lost 249 points, to end the day at 24,758.12, the Nasdaq Composite shed 14 points, and settled at 7,496.81, while the S&P shed 0.57% and finished at 2,749.48. News that US President Trump plans to impose additional tariffs to China, to trim the country's trade deficit with China by $100 billion, hurt demand for equities, despite early Chinese data fueled demand for mining and industrial-related shares.

In the data front, poor Retail Sales, which fell for a second consecutive month in February, also dented demand for shares. Retail Sales fell monthly basis by 0.1%, while the Retail Sales Control Group posted a modest growth of 0.1%, missing market's expectations of a 0.4% advance.

The DJIA posted its lowest settlement in over a week, breaking below its 100 DMA, and with technical indicators in the daily chart heading sharply lower below their mid-lines, suggesting the selling interest remains strong. For the S&P, however, the picture is not that clear, as despite technical indicators also head south, they are stuck around their mid-lines, while the index holds above all of its moving averages.