USA stocks lower on weak China trade data

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 83.64 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 17,826.69.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite declined 49 points, or 1%, to 5,097.

All three major USA stock indexes trimmed a few of their losses late in the session.

“This is deeply concerning”, Catherine Mann, OECD’s chief economist, wrote in a forecast.

Customs data showed China’s imports fell by 18.8 percent in October from a year earlier, damping hopes for a Chinese economic rebound this quarter.

“Things went a little too far, too fast”, said Bill Nichols, head of United States equities at Cantor Fitzgerald.

“Today’s selloff does not make a lot of sense because there weren’t any big economic or corporate news”.

Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Friday as traders digested the closely watched monthly jobs report. “But outstanding issues tied to stateside manufacturing, U.S. multinational earnings, fiscal reform, stimulus and austerity overseas along with geopolitical factors may still keep the Fed from raising the benchmark rate when the FOMC next meets in December”. The U.S. dollar index, which pits it against its major peers, was down about 0.2% near 99.04.

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The data triggered a spike in the USA dollar, which rose to a six-month high against the euro on Friday and saw its largest weekly gain against the yen since May. On the Nasdaq, 1,434 issues fell and 777 advanced.

But further signs of a slowing Chinese economy also appeared to weigh on shares elsewhere in the region.

Near 11:14 a.m. ET, the Dow was down 203 points, the S&P 500 was down 24 points, and the Nasdaq was down 62 points.

Investors also focused on renewed fears of a slowdown in China, a key market for many companies, ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season.

A trader said the quarterly report from the Continental was solid, albeit below analysts’ expectations, but investors were taking profit as the higher guidance had already been priced in. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi recently defended the bank’s readiness to take more accommodative action.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 hit a fresh 2½-month high as the yen weakened against the dollar.

Bond yields spiked for a second day as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.36 per cent from 2.32 per cent late Friday.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising USD0.44 to USD44.73 a barrel after sliding USD2.30 or 4.5% to USD44.29 a barrel in the week ended November 6th. Gold futures, which slumped USD53.70 or 4.7% to USD1,087.70 an ounce last week, are climbing USD4.90 to USD1,092.60 an ounce.