Welcome to Mint live blog. Track this space for latest news and updates on stock markets. Wall Street stocks ended lower Thursday following a late-afternoon retreat on growing US-China tensions as markets digested more bad economic data following coronavirus shutdowns.
Stocks had been in positive territory most of the day but pulled back after US President Donald Trump announced he would hold a press conference on China on Friday.
The announcement follows strong US criticism of a security law allowing China to tighten its grip on Hong Kong. Chinese lawmakers on Thursday approved the security law, which may curb democratic freedom in Hong Kong.