US stocks tumble during opening trade as Turkish/trade tensions resurface

Major US equity indices opened lower on Wednesday and reversed all of the previous session's positive move 

Despite signs of stability in the Turkish Lira, fears of a possible contagion effect on regions' with exposure to the country turned out to be one of the key factors driving investors away from perceived riskier assets - like equities. 

Meanwhile, trade tensions between the US and its trading partners returned back in focus after Turkey doubled tariffs on some US imports in response to the US President Donald Trump's move to raise duties on Turkish aluminium and steel. 

Adding to the latest trade-related developments, China lodged a complaint to the WTO to help determine the legality of the US tariff and subsidy policies, which further collaborated towards denting investors' sentiment. 

On the economic data front, the US monthly retail sales bettered expectations and rose 0.5% in July. Excluding auto, the sales were up 0.6% and pointed to a healthy domestic economy, albeit did little to provide any fresh bullish impetus.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped around 225-points to 25,074 and the broader S&P 500 Index lost nearly 25-points to 2,815. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was down around 70-points and has now moved on the verge of decisively breaking below the 7,800 round figure mark.