Monday's Stock Market Close: US Equities Fall On Chinese Trade Uncertainties, Ahead Of Fed Meeting

U.S. equity indexes dropped Monday on some weak economic data from China and concerns over when a U.S.-China trade deal will finally emerge with a new round of tariffs looming next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.6 points to 27,909.46 while the S&P 500 eased 9.96 points to 3,135.95 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 34.7 points to 8,621.83.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled 2.51 billion shares with 1,150 issues advancing, 102 setting new highs, and 1,372 declining, with 16 setting new lows.

Active movers were led by ArQule Inc. (ARQL), PG&E Corp. (PCG) and Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB).

Traders will focus on monetary policy as the Federal Reserve begins meeting Tuesday.

Data from China suggested Beijing’s trade war with the Washington is hurting its economy. Chinese exports to the U.S. plunged by 23% year-over-year in November to $35.6 billion, while imports of U.S. goods fell by 2.8% to $11 billion. China’s global exports slipped 1.1% to $221.7 billion.

China’s commerce ministry said Monday the government hopes trade talks with the U.S. will result in a “satisfactory” outcome.

Traders remained vigilant for signs of a phase one trade deal between U.S. and China ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline that could see Washington impose more tariffs on Chinese goods. But Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the planned tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese goods are unlikely.

“We have a deadline coming up on the Dec. 15 for another tranche of tariffs. I do not believe those will be implemented, and I think we may see some backing away,” Purdue said at a conference in Indianapolis Monday.

“There is a lot of uncertainty heading into Dec. 15 about what the president is going to do,” said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth LLC. But, Pavlik added, “People are not running for the hills,” saying the cyclical consumer staples sector performed well on Monday, along with the more defensive real estate and consumer staples sectors.

Overnight in Asia, markets finished mixed. The Hang Seng edged down 0.01% while Japan’s Nikkei-225 climbed 0.33% and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.08%

European markets all finished lower with the FTSE 100 down 0.08% while Germany's DAX fell 0.46% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.59%.

Crude oil futures dropped 0.37% to $58.98 per barrel and Brent crude slipped 0.16% at $64.15. Gold futures finished flat.

The euro gained 0.03% to $1.1064 while the pound sterling edged up 0.08% at $1.3148.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped 0.71% to 1.829% while yield on the 30-year Treasury fell 0.88% to 2.264%.