United States stocks are little changed in early trading after big week

The bond market is closed for Columbus Day.

The Dow is attempting to string together eight consecutive days of gains, while the S&P 500 is eyeing a five-day run-up, as is the Nasdaq Composite.

The seesawing action in stocks comes as skittish investors await a batch of corporate earnings and economic reports to gauge the health of the US economy amid a global economic slowdown. France’s CAC-40 dropped 1.7 percent to 4,610.78. The Federal Reserve is set to release its Beige Book report at 2 pm ET.

Worries about third-quarter earnings reports continued to weigh on sentiment.

After the market close, JP Morgan kicks off bank earnings.

Dollar General ( DG ) announced restructuring initiatives, including the elimination of 225 corporate support functions, to drive growth.

SLOW RYDER: Ryder Systems was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 after the company cut its earnings forecast for the third quarter.

The stock market is on track for a lower open after China’s trade balance showed a larger than expected 20% decline in imports, sparking renewed concerns about China’s demand for goods and services from its neighbors; S&P and Dow -0.6%, Nasdaq -0.7%.

The U.S. bond market was closed on Monday.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is declining 26.50 points or 0.51 percent to 5,176.40, off a low of 5,164.20 earlier.

“It’s the first piece of news we’ve gotten out of China for a few time and those weak import numbers add evidence that their economy hasn’t strengthened since we last got data on the PMI readings”, said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.2 percent to 4,838.64. The USA central bank’s mandate centers on maximizing employment and keeping inflation at its 2% target level, which is considered a healthy level.

The results of a survey by the Westpac Bank showed that confidence among consumers in Australia improved in October. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 6,285.05 and Germany’s DAX sagged 1.2% to 9,915.41.

Asian stock markets extended losses Wednesday following a drop on Wall Street as investors digested weak Chine…

The uncertain start for the main indexes came as the producer-price index, an important inflation indicator, declined in September and retail sales matched economists’ forecasts.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 0.9 per cent and emerging market stocks fell 1.3 per cent. Nikkei futures fell 1.4 per cent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 5,197.30.

Asian shares stepped back from two-month highs on profit-taking on Tuesday and oil prices regrouped after Monday’s big fall, while the dollar was on the defensive as expectations of an imminent USA rate hike receded. The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance increased unexpectedly by 4,600 from August.