U.S. Stocks Tick Lower as China's Export Growth Stalls
January 14 2020 - 10:38AM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Isaac and Paul Vigna
Stocks slipped Tuesday as China's exports grew at the slowest
pace in three years, adding to concerns about a wider global
slowdown.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost
0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung between small gains
and losses.
A rally in financial stocks helped offset losses in most other
sectors, after JPMorgan and Citigroup reported strong
fourth-quarter results to kick off the corporate earnings
season.
Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite Index closed for the day down
0.3%, while the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up
0.2%.
Exports from China climbed by 0.5% last year, a sharp comedown
from 2018's expansion of nearly 10%, according to data released
Tuesday. Imports dropped 2.8% last year.
While the slowdown comes amid a two-year trade war between the
world's largest economies, China's foreign trade revived in
December as tensions ebbed following signals that Washington was
nearing a trade deal with Beijing. Investors in recent days have
been cautiously optimistic about that accord as they await more
information on the specific terms of the agreement.
China has committed to buying almost $80 billion of additional
manufactured goods from the U.S. over the next two years, Reuters
reported on Tuesday. The Asian giant would also purchase more than
$50 billion more in energy supplies, and boost spending on U.S.
services by roughly $35 billion, the news agency said, citing a
person with knowledge of the matter.
"The overall mood music is positive, but the key thing is what
the actual wording of the agreement is," said Edward Park, deputy
chief investment officer in London for Brooks Macdonald Asset
Management. "Investors need to see real progress on
U.S.-China."
Separately, China's currency strengthened to its strongest level
since July in offshore trading after the U.S. on Monday dropped it
from a list of currency manipulators, days before the likely
signing of a phase-one trade deal. The yuan pared back its gains
later in the day.
Elsewhere in the U.S. market, Dow component JPMorgan and rival
Citigroup reported strength in their investment banks in the last
three months of 2019. Both stocks rose about 2%. Those gains helped
push the Nasdaq KBW Bank index up 0.5%.
But Wells Fargo fell 2.7% after reporting its profit sank due to
legal costs incurred from problems in its sales practices.
Delta Air Lines rose 3.5% after the airline said lower fuel
prices and strong demand over the holidays helped boost its profit,
which exceeded analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, Boston Scientific
fell 6.4% after the medical-devices maker warned its sales would
fall shy of expectations.
Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com and Paul Vigna at
paul.vigna@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 14, 2020 10:23 ET (15:23 GMT)
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