China’s imports hammered by trade war fears, as market sell-off continues – business live

News Snapshot:

02.17 EST Introduction: Trade war fears drive up volatility Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The markets continue to be buffeted by fears of a global trade war, as Donald Trump vacillates over the imposition of tariffs on major US trading partners. Last night in New York, the S&P 500 index fell 1.8% to its lowest level since early November – the post-election Trump bump has well-and-truly vanished. Tech stock slid, pushing the Nasdaq index into a correction (more than 10% below its record high). Wall Street’s fear index,...