Stocks Open Lower, With China's Economy in Focus
Wall Street markets opened lower on Monday as investors worry about some soft economic data from China and a profit warning by the British retailer Tesco.
KEEPING SCORE The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.19 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 0.37 percent. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.54 percent.
IN EUROPE Following broad-based declines in Asia on the back of China worries, markets in Europe were lackluster. In Germany, the DAX was flat in France, the CAC-40 was down 0.1 percent. The FTSE 100 in Britain underperformed its peers in Europe, falling 0.7 percent after another profit warning from Tesco.
CHINA WORRIES Investors are nervous about China following a run of soft economic data that suggests growth in the world's second-largest economy is slowing. On Tuesday, HSBC publishes its closely watched gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity.
THE QUOTE 'There's growing concern over the state of the Chinese economy,' said Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades.
SLUMP Yahoo fell 3 percent, the most in the S.&P. 500.
SOAR Sigma-Aldrich rose the most, 34 percent. The St. Louis-based chemical firm agreed to be bought by the German drug company Merck.
ASIA'S DAY The concerns over China saw the main index in Shanghai drop 1.2 percent to 1,332.22 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong'fall 1.4 percent to 23,955.67. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent to 16,205 while in South Korea, the Kospi declined 0.7 percent to 2,039.27.
TESCO TURMOIL Tesco was in focus Monday after the British retailer revealed it had overestimated its half-year expected profit by 250 million pounds ($409 million). Tesco, which has seen its share price plunge 10 percent, has suspended four executive and appointed independent accountants to investigate its fourth profit warning since January 2012.
CURRENCIES The yen has been trading at six-year lows as the dollar has surged in anticipation the United States Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year while the Bank of Japan maintains its easy monetary policy. On Monday the dollar was flat at 109.03 yen while the euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2851.
SILVER'S FALL FROM GRACE Silver continued its recent descent, falling to its lowest level since the summer of 2010. An ounce of silver was down 1.4 percent at $17.59. Precious metals, including gold, have been pressured by the recent strength of the dollar, low global inflation and generally buoyant stock markets. Gold is trading at its lowest level since the start of the year at around $1,214 an ounce.
ENERGY Benchmark crude oil edged up 15 cents to $91.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
BONDS Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.57 percent.
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