Wall Street tumbles over 1% at the open on Turkey, trade war concerns

US stock indices slumped at the open of the third session this week as a dollar surge to 14-month highs weighed on export stocks, while the Turkish Lira's recent plunge and global trade tensions continue to weigh on sentiment. 

Earlier US data showed retail sales rose 0.5% in July, supported by strong sales in the Amazon Prime Day, and beating estimates of a 0.1% increase. 

An index tracking the manufacturing sector in New York state rose to 25.6, the best reading since October 2017, while unit labor costs tumbled 0.9% in the second quarter,  the first such decline since the last quarter of 2013, and compared to a 2.9% increase in the first quarter. 

Non-farm productivity jumped 2.9% in the second quarter, up from 0.4% in the first.

A drop in unit labor costs harms inflation and wage growth prospects, with the same effect from an increase in productivity.

US industrial production barely grew 0.1% in July, compared to a 1% increase in June, revised from 0.6%, while analysts expected a 0.3% increase. 

The capacity utilization rate remained unchanged at 78.1% in July, slightly missing estimates of 78.2%. 

Stock Performance 

As of 03:23 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 fell 1.07%, or 30.41 points to 2,809.55, while Dow Jones tumbled 1.01%, or 255.23 points to 25,044.69. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ swooned 1.48%, or 116.66 points to 7,754.24.