Afternoon Markets: US stocks dip on China trade spat

Wall Street shares dipped on opening as a trade spat between the US and China escalated.

The main Dow Jones index shed 24.56 points, or 0.2%, to 9,580.85, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq also trailed. Over the weekend the US hit Chinese tyre exporters with a special tariff. Beijing criticised the move and filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization. Sentiment was also muted ahead of a key speech by US President Barack Obama outlining radical changes to the US financial system. Aluminium miner Alcoa topped the fallers, down 2.4% to $12.68 after HSBC analysts said its shares looked expensive compared to its competitors. Bank of America fell almost 2%, whil...