By Anna Isaac
-- U.S. stock futures down
-- German manufacturing slips
-- Treasury yields tick higher
U.S. stock futures moved lower ahead of the opening bell, as
disappointing economic data in Europe and low expectations for U.S.
trade talks with China dampened investor confidence.
Contracts tied to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial
Average were down 0.2%.
Shares of General Electric rose 0.8% in premarket trade, after
the company said it would make changes to its pension plans aimed
at cutting its pension deficit by up to $8 billion and net debt by
$6 billion.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is expected to resume trade
discussions with U.S. counterparts later this week.
Any expectations for a broad trade deal between China and the
U.S. had been misguided, said Geoffrey Yu, head of the U.K.
investment office at the wealth-management arm of UBS. "I'm
surprised expectations were that high in the first place. It was
clear that China wanted to separate the tech side of things out and
focus on the tariff side of things alone," Mr. Yu said.
Markets have had their hopes pared back, and as a result, even a
partial deal might be enough "to help keep things on track," he
said. Investors would be watching the U.S. consumer, and the
agricultural sector in particular, for a positive response to any
reduction in trade hostilities, Mr. Yu said.
U.S. economic data have recently suggested that weakness in
factories may be spreading to other parts of the economy. Last
week, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index
slipped to its lowest reading since 2009, while the services sector
dropped to a score of 52.6 in September, its worst reading since
August 2016.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.3% in afternoon trade, supported
by gains for health-care stocks and food and beverage
companies.
German manufacturing orders declined by 0.6% on the month,
official data showed. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal
had forecast a small improvement of 0.2% growth.
Shares of auto-parts maker Continental AG were among the biggest
decliners Monday, falling 1.5%. The company last month confirmed it
would close production plants in several countries. Its competitor,
Michelin, also said in September it would shut a factory in
Germany.
The U.S.-China trade row has weighed on Germany's manufacturing
and export-heavy economy throughout the year. But the latest
figures also showed that domestic demand had weakened, falling
2.6%, while international orders climbed slightly, by 0.9%.
Yields on German 10-year bunds ticked lower to -0.594%. Yields
on bonds fall as prices rise.
Meanwhile, a snapshot of European investor sentiment from
research firm Sentix slipped in October, falling deeper into
negative territory from the month before.
"Investor confidence in the eurozone is still in near free-fall,
and last month's tepid rebound is increasingly looking like a
dead-cat bounce," said Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at
Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a note.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2%, while Korea's Kospi edged
up 0.1%. Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China remained shut for
a national holiday
Lee Hardman, currency analyst at MUFG, said there had been a
number of reports that China may not be as willing to compromise as
much as the Trump administration hopes.
"The U.S. would like a trade deal with China, a wide-ranging
deal, but those demands look like they're unlikely to be accepted
by China. Things like intellectual property rights and other
structural issues like state subsidies look unlikely to be
resolved," he said. "China may buy more agricultural goods but it's
unclear whether or not that partial agreement will be a big enough
win for the U.S."
The Chinese offshore yuan was down 0.2% against the dollar, a
move some analysts said reflected worsening prospects of a
breakthrough in trade relations with the U.S. The offshore yuan
could reach a new low if there isn't a resolution in trade talks by
the end of the year, according to MUFG analysts.
In commodities, global-oil benchmark Brent crude gained 1%, and
haven asset gold slipped 0.5%.
The head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve, Esther George, said
Sunday that she would support a further cut in interest rates if
economic data weakened, but that the economy was "in a good place"
at the moment.
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to 1.532% on Monday,
from 1.515% on Friday.
Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 07, 2019 09:29 ET (13:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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