Monday's Stock Market Open: Euphoria Over China Trade Talks Evaporates

China’s request for further trade talks this month before signing a phase 1 trade deal with the United States weighed on stocks Monday but by midday, markets were reversing early losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off nearly 100 points shortly after the open but by midday had turned positive, adding 33 points to 26,849. The S&P 500 was off just 0.2 point to 2,970 and the Nasdaq Composite added nearly 4 points to 8,060.

President Trump Friday announced the preliminary trade agreement Friday following two days of high level talks involving Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Chinese agreed to buy more U.S. agricultural products, and the U.S. agreed to delay increased tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods that had been scheduled to kick in Tuesday.

Bloomberg reported China is seeking another round of talks to finalize a written deal before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile next month.

“With our teams making progress on some parts of the agreement under consultation, it is important we address each other’s concerns properly and make positive headway in other areas as well,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a message to Trump.

“Work needs to be continued toward sealing a final agreement, and the deal needs to be comprehensive,” said Zang Yueru, an analyst at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research think tank. “It is critical for the two countries.”

The General Administration of Customs reported Monday imports from the U.S. to China have fallen 5%, totaling $1.55 trillion, since the beginning of the year, with sharp drops in purchases of aircraft, soybeans and LED screens. In September alone, imports were down 8.5%. Imports from Japan and South Korea also were significantly lower, down 7.5% and 17.8%, respectively.

European negotiators raced to hammer out a deal between the United Kingdom and European Union ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline for Britain to leave the EU. EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the U.K.’s proposals so far have lacked detail while the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland also expressed doubts.

On global markets, Asian stocks closed higher while European stocks were lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.81% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.15% and China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.15%. Australia’s S&P/ASX gained 0.54%.

London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.46%, while the German DAX was off 0.2% and the French CAC 40 was off 0.4%. The Stoxx 600 was off 0.52%.

The British pound was off 0.57 cens to $1.2591 while the euro lost 0.11 cents to $1.1026. The dollar index was up 0.19%.

Oil futures were lower. Crude oil gave up $1.31, falling to $53.38 a barrel, while Brent crude was off $1.42 to $59.09. Gold and silver futures were higher.

The U.S. bond market was closed for the Columbus Day holiday.