US stocks react to Cohn's resignation, tumble during early trade

Major US equity indices opened with steep losses on Wednesday as investors reacted to the White House economic adviser Gary Cohn's resignation. 

Cohn had opposed Trump’s plan to introduce tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and his resignation, as the head of President Donald Trump's National Economic Council, increased fears that Trump will impose steep metal tariffs, risking a global trade war. 

On the economic data front, the release of better-than-expected ADP report, showing private-sector employer added 235K jobs in February, failed to lend any support, with a fresh wave of risk-aversion trade acting as an exclusive driver of the early downfall.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 200-points to 24,680 and the broader S&P 500 Index dropped nearly 20-points to 2,710. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index retreated around 35-points to 7,335.