U.S. Stocks Fall on Trade Deal Uncertainty
November 11 2019 - 12:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Avantika Chilkoti
U.S. stocks slipped Monday, dragged lower by broad declines
across all but one sector in the S&P 500.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115 points, or 0.4%, to
27566, retreating from an all-time high hit Friday. The S&P 500
lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%.
With the bulk of third-quarter earnings results out, investors'
attention has lately turned back to the U.S. and China's trade
talks.
After some optimism around the prospects of a "phase one" trade
deal last week, some analysts like Mike Bell, global market
strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, have flagged concerns
that investors could be disappointed by the scope of any
agreement.
"The fundamental trade tension between the U.S. and China is
unlikely to go away in a hurry, and I think the problem with
calling it a 'phase one' trade deal is that it then implies there
will be a 'phase two' trade deal," Mr. Bell said.
Energy shares led declines in the S&P 500 Monday, with the
sector recently down 0.7%. U.S. crude-oil prices fell 0.3% to
$57.07 a barrel after Oman's oil minister said current production
curbs among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
are likely to be extended until the end of 2020, but won't be
deepened in the short term.
Technology shares were also broadly lower, with Micron
Technology down 2.1% and Activision Blizzard off 2.8%.
The U.S. bond market was closed in observance of Veterans
Day.
Earlier, Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark closed down 2.6%, the
fourth-biggest drop of the year, after police fired gunshots at
protesters and demonstrations across the city forced schools and
offices to close early.
"It's very concerning today," said Weiqi Zhu, a fund manager at
Gao Zheng Asset Management, adding that political uncertainty was
putting off investment in Hong Kong. "The violence is up to another
stage now."
The continuing protests have triggered similar selloffs this
year, including in August when demonstrators paralyzed the airport,
one of the world's busiest travel hubs. The Hang Seng Index is one
of the weakest major stock-market performers this year, up 4%,
compared with double-digit gains elsewhere in Asia, the U.S. and
Europe.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.8%. Consumer
inflation data out over the weekend showed prices soared in October
to the highest level in more than seven years, fueled by a
continued surge in pork prices. Analysts said the new data reduced
the chances of further monetary easing in China, at least in the
coming months.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose less than 0.1%. Mining stocks, which
are often sensitive to changes in Chinese macroeconomic policy,
were among the weaker performers Monday, with Glencore losing 3.5%
and BHP down 2.1%.
In currencies, the British pound was up 0.8% against the U.S.
dollar after Nigel Farage's Brexit Party said it won't contest
Conservative-held seats in the December election. The move could
make it easier for current Prime Minister Boris Johnson to obtain a
majority in the election.
Akane Otani and Steven Russolillo contributed to this
article.
Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 11, 2019 12:19 ET (17:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.