Stocks slid on Monday as traders awaited further developments on the trade front, while turmoil in Hong Kong added to the risk-off mood. Gold and the yen climbed.
The Stoxx Europe 600 declined, led lower by banks and miners. U.S. equity futures also fell after President Donald Trump said over the weekend that America hasn’t yet reached an agreement with China and emphasized that he wouldn’t eliminate all tariffs. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost almost 3% after a protester was shot by police during the morning commute. Shares in Shanghai retreated, while Japanese stocks were little changed. Veterans’ Day in the U.S. means no Treasuries trading.
The unrest in Hong Kong is reminding investors of lingering geo-political risks as U.S.-China trade talks drag on. Data over the weekend showed Chinese factory-gate prices dropping for a fourth month, heightening concern about the effect of the trade war on the world’s second-biggest economy. Still, Alibaba’s sales event kicked off with a bang, helping investors gauge how willing Chinese consumers are to spend as economic growth threatens to slip below 6%.
“Looking further ahead this week, we can expect to see further fallout” amid trade balance, manufacturing and industrial-production data for some of the world’s biggest economies, said Siobhan Redford, a Johannesburg-based economist at FirstRand Bank Ltd. “If these figures reflect further deterioration in economic activity, we can expect markets to continue to trade weaker.”
Elsewhere, the Socialists are set to win the greatest number of votes from Sunday’s election in Spain, but the fragmented results point to weeks of negotiations for party leader Pedro Sanchez if he is to form a government. Crude oil retreated from a seven-week high.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
- Earnings include Tencent, Nissan Motor, Japan Post Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ.
- New Zealand’s policy decision is due Wednesday, with market pricing tilting in favor of an interest-rate cut.
- Fed Chairman Jerome Powell addresses the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, in Washington Wednesday. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speaks in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
- Thursday brings China retail sales and industrial production data.
- U.S. retail sales on Friday are forecast to rebound in October after unexpectedly falling the prior month.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index decreased 0.3% as of 8:10 a.m. London time.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.2%.
- The Shanghai Composite Index decreased 1.8%.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 1.2%.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was unchanged.
- The euro advanced 0.1% to $1.1025.
- The British pound climbed 0.2% to $1.2801.
- The onshore yuan decreased 0.2% to 7.008 per dollar.
- The Japanese yen climbed 0.3% to 108.98 per dollar.
Bonds
- Germany’s 10-year yield was unchanged at -0.26%.
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.794%.
- Japan’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to -0.063%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1.1% to $56.62 a barrel.
- Iron ore fell 0.7% to $76.99 per metric ton.
- Gold gained 0.3% to $1,463.44 an ounce.
