Monday's Stock Market Open: US Shares Lower On China Trade Talks, Worries On Economy

Traders sent stocks lower at the open Monday but turned marginally higher as traders worried about weak economic data and trade talks with China due to resume within days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, off nearly 90 points shortly after the open, climbed 15 points at midday to 26,589, up 0.06%. The Nasdaq Composite added 13 points to 7,995 or 0.16% while S&P 500 added 1 point to 2,953 or 0.05%.

Chinese Premier Liu He was scheduled to travel to Washington this week for talks with U.S. trade officials as new tariffs on billions in Chinese goods hung in the balance.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Sunday it would enhance protection of foreign enterprises in China to encourage foreign investment as U.S. President Trump mulled ordering U.S. firms to pull out of China and a delisting of Chinese equities on U.S. exchanges. Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said foreign trade faces unprecedented challenges, and China will actively promote imports to cultivate a competitive edge.

Trump has said a partial trade deal covering only agriculture would not be acceptable and he would rather have no deal than a bad deal.

U.S. economic data suggesting a weakening in the manufacturing sector was feared to be spreading to other sectors with an anemic jobs creation report last week.

In Europe, concern over Britain’s divorce from the European Union with no firm deal in place ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline seemed to ease. The European Commission has given British Prime Minister Boris Johnson until Oct. 17 to reach agreement with the other 27 members of the economic alliance to ensure a smooth exit at the end of the month.

Global markets were mixed.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 1.11% lower while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.16% down and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.92%. Australia’s S&P/ASX rose 0.71%.

London’s FTSE closed up 0.59% while the German DAX added 0.7% and the French CAC 40 was up 0.61%. The Stoxx Europe 600 ended the day at 392.91, up 0.71%.

The British pound was off 0.11% at $1.2319 while the euro gained 0.02% to $1.0981. The dollar index was flat, up 0.05%.

Oil futures were higher. Crude oil rose to $53.65, up 84 cents, while Brent crude rose to $59.11, up 74 cents. Gold and silver were lower.