Wall Street opens in red amid resurfacing trade fears

Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in the negative territory on Friday with investors staying away from risky assets amid resurfacing concerns over the U.S. - China trade conflict. U.S. President Trump, who earlier this month said that there wouldn't be a final deal until he met with Chinese President Xi, reportedly does not have any plans to meet Xi Jinping before the March 1 deadline. Reflecting the dismal mood, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, is up nearly 5% on the day.

While all the 11 S&P 500 major sectors are falling in the early trade, the consumer discretionary and financials are down 0.66% and 0.55%, respectively, to lead the losses. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was erasing 0.45% on the day, the S&P 500 was losing 0.33% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%.