Wall Street opens in red as China's tariffs announcement triggers flight-to-safety

• China announces retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods.
• Sharp fall in crude oil prices weigh on energy shares.
• Defensive sector post modest gains in early trade. 

Major equity indexes in the United States started the day in the negative territory on Monday pressured by fresh of risk-off flows. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.35% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were erasing 0.38% and 0.6%, respectively.

Earlier today, China said they are going to start imposing new tariffs on $75 billion worth of US imports as a retaliation to the US tariffs. "New tariff rates imposed on some US goods will be ranging from 5% to 10% and will take effect on September 1 and December 15," China said.

The S&P 500 Energy Index came under strong pressure as crude oil prices fell sharply on China's announcement and was last down 1.3% on the day. Additionally, trade-sensitive Industrials and Technology sectors are both suffering losses.

On the other hand, defensive Real Estate and Utilities sectors post modest gains in early trade to confirm the sour market sentiment.