Fear that the world's two largest economies would restart their trade war sent stocks falling Friday, although many markets were closed for the May Day holiday.
Also depressing stocks were disappointing earnings from Amazon and other large companies.
"We all had these great expectations for Amazon," J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade, told the Associated Press. "The stock ran up amazingly because we were expecting their earnings to be good."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 622.03 points, or 2.55%, to 23,723.69; the S&P 500 lost 81.72 points, or 2.81%, to 2,830.71; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 284.60 points, or 3.2%, to 8,604.95.
The benchmark London stocks index lost 2.34% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 2.21%. Japan's Nikkei lost 2.84%.
Stocks were pushed lower after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to increase sanctions on China as punishment for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
"A rise in tension between China and the U.S. certainly could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy and business confidence, which is already hurt from the shutdowns," said Carin Pai, director of equity management at Fiduciary Trust International in New York.
Oil prices wobbled again as weak demand due to the virus and excess supply outweighed a record output cut by OPEC and its allies.
Some information for this report came from Reuters.
