Dow falls 2pc as US stocks resume sell-off on trade, Brexit

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were sharply lower in mid-morning trading Monday as the postponement of Britain's Brexit vote added to the uncertainties that have dragged major indices into correction territory.

Near 1625 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.0 percent, or about 485 points, to 23,901.22.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.8 percent to 2,585.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.3 percent to 6,881.84.

Stocks had a mixed open but shifted downward as word spread that British Prime Minister Theresa May pulled a parliamentary vote for her Brexit plan because of lack of support.

The Brexit quagmire comes as investors are already edgy over hawkish Trump administration rhetoric on trade relations with China and the US-engineered arrest of a Chinese Huawei in Canada.

On Monday, Qualcomm said a Chinese court ordered a ban in the country on iPhone sales in a patent dispute between the US chipmaker and Apple. Apple described Qualcomm's claims as groundless and disputed the characterization of the ruling, saying it continued to sell iPhones in China.

Apple fell 2.1 percent and Qualcomm jumped 2.9 percent.

Some investors thought the ruling might be a "tit-for-tat" response in China to the Huawei arrest or linked to the US-China trade fight.

The court's decision was reportedly dated November 30, however, which was prior to the arrest.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR, said Brexit added to uncertainty over Europe, along with large street protests in Paris and an ongoing clash between Rome and Brussels over Italian budget plans.

"Together they create a picture that doesn't spell a lot of good news for global growth," Hogan said.

Banks such as Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America all shed more than three percent.

Petroleum-linked shares also retreated as oil prices pulled back following last week's OPEC deal. Dow members Chevron and Exxon Mobil both lost more than three percent.