Stock exchange.
(Image credit: BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 700 points Thursday after the arrest of a top Chinese executive exacerbated concerns about the U.S. trade war with China.

In addition to the Dow falling 2.8 percent, the S&P 500 also fell 2.6 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2 percent, CNN reports.

The Dow has plunged more than 1,500 points over the past two days after having started off the week up 300 points thanks to the United States and China announcing a 90-day tariff ceasefire, reports CNBC. But President Trump subsequently warned China that if a "fair" trade deal between the two countries is not reached in that time, he would reimpose tariffs, dubbing himself a "Tariff Man."

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The Dow fell 800 points that afternoon, and matters were only made worse when Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested Thursday morning in Canada at the request of the United States. Experts say the already fragile trade truce could be upended by the move. "We think this will force China to take a more aggressive and confrontational approach with the U.S.," Brown Brothers Harriman's global head of currency strategy said of the arrest, per CNN.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.