Dow looks headed for a 200-point drop at the open as trade war fears intensify

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Friday morning, after China responded with retaliatory measures to President Donald Trump intensifying war on Beijing's trade practices.

Trump pressed ahead with long-promised anti-China charges on Thursday. The U.S. president signed an executive memorandum that will impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports.

In response, China's commerce ministry proposed a list of 128 U.S. products as potential retaliation targets, according to a statement on its website posted Friday morning. Beijing's ministry said it will take measures against the 128 U.S. goods in two stages if it cannot reach an agreement with Washington, adding that it could also take legal action under World Trade Organization rules.

Asia stock markets took a dive on the news, with European equities then tracking overnight losses. The pan-European Stoxx-600 index was around 1.25 percent lower on Friday morning. In Asia, the Shangahi Composite in China closed down 3.3 percent, while the Nikkei in Japan closed off by 4.5 percent.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks fell sharply amid intensifying worries of a tit-for-tat trade war. The Dow Jones industrial average also briefly entered correction territory for the first time since last month, falling 10 percent from its 52-week high at one stage late in the session.

Meanwhile, on the data front, Friday will see durable goods and new home sales data for February released during mid-morning deals.

In oil markets, Brent crude traded at around $69.11 a barrel on Friday morning, up 0.3 percent, while U.S. crude was around $64.68, up 0.6 percent. Oil prices were lifted by Saudi plans for OPEC and Russian-led production cuts introduced in 2017 to be extended beyond the end of 2018.