What you need to know on Wall Street today

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The US and China threw another series of punches in their escalating trade fight on Tuesday and Wednesday, and experts say the two nations are veering rapidly toward an all-out trade war as US stock markets plunged in early trading before rebounding.

The new round of blows began Tuesday, when the Office of the US Trade Representative announced a list of roughly 1,300 Chinese goods it said would be subject to a 25% tariff. The list had a particular focus on new technologies, though it also included goods as varied as agricultural equipment and raw metals. In response, the Chinese government announced tariffs on more than 100 US products, including soybeans, automobiles, and chemicals.

Here's the latest:

• The Trump-China "intimidation trade game" is getting ugly - and a trade war could be fast approaching
• Wall Street is waking up to the most hostile parts of Trump's agenda - and the worst is yet to come
• These states could be hit the hardest by a trade war with China
• Here's what China has going for it in a trade war - and what it doesn't
• ING: There's a chance Trump is playing a "smart, strategic game" on trade
• Alibaba is getting whacked as fears of a trade war heat up
• Boeing dives following China's latest trade challenge
• Automakers plunge as China plots retaliatory tariffs on US products
• Gold jumps after China announces tariffs on $50 billion worth of US goods
• Soybeans are getting whacked after China announces tariffs
• Stocks still have a long way to go to wipe out the gains made since Trump's election

And in broader markets news:

• The best stock trade of 2018 is a reversal from last year as turbulence rocks the market
• The tumbling stock market is stuck in free fall without its most important safety net
• A $165 billion investment chief identifies the "single winner" in a market that's made a drastic U-turn from last year

In finance news, JPMorgan's top bank analyst just slammed Deutsche Bank's Wall Street business, Goldman Sachs made a big hire from Amazon to lead its artificial-intelligence efforts, and Coinbase snags a former New York Stock Exchange exec to push crypto to Wall Street.