NEW YORK, Nov 20 — Wall Street stocks pulled back early today on revived fears over the grinding US-China trade talks, offset somewhat by good earnings from retailers Target and Lowe’s.
Investors fear another escalation of trade tensions on the lack of progress between Washington and Beijing on fleshing out a preliminary “phase one” trade agreement struck in October that halted additional trade tariffs.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs higher if no deal is struck.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 per cent at 27,873.50.
The broad-based S&P 500 also fell 0.2 per cent to 3,115.03, along with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index, which stood at 8,553.59.
Major indices rose to all-time highs in recent sessions, in part due to an easing of US-China tensions that investors now may be rethinking.
Another positive factor has been healthy US consumer spending, which was on display in earnings reports today.
Target jumped 10.3 per cent after reporting higher third-quarter earnings on a 4.5 per cent increase in comparable store sales. The big-box retailer expressed confidence about the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Home-improvement retailer Lowe’s gained 6.0 per cent as it also reported higher profits that it said reflected a “solid macroeconomic backdrop” that has boosted consumption. — AFP
