Thursday's Stock Market Open: Trade Worries Weigh On Wall Street

Worries over a U.S.-China trade deal gave traders the jitters Thursday as word surfaced negotiators are at odds on how China would bring up the level of its agricultural imports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 71 points at noon 27,712 as the S&P 500 gave up 8 points to 3,085 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 37 points to 8,444.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported initial jobless claims rose 14,000 last week to 225,000. The four-week moving average increased 1,750 to 217,000.

Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler said it plans to cut jobs and personnel costs to pay for the costs of meeting lower auto emissions standards.

Phase 1 of an overall deal to end the U.S.-China trade war calls for China to buy $50 billion in agricultural products annually but Chinese negotiators reportedly are cool to a U.S. proposal that it set up scheduled targets for the purchases. China also is insisting on tariff rollbacks, something President Trump has said he’s not willing to do wholesale. A new round of U.S. tariffs are scheduled to kick in Dec. 15.

China already has lifted a ban on U.S. poultry that began in 2015. In return the U.S. Agriculture Department said it would allow Chinese poultry to be imported. China, however, has yet to unload U.S. 1.8 million tons of soybeans in its ports, waiting for agreement on a preliminary trade deal.

At the same time, October economic data out of China pointed to further weakening of the economy. Fixed asset investment last month grew by just 5.2%, its lowest level on record, with manufacturing suffering the brunt of the slowdown. Data for the month also showed a slowdown in industrial production and retail sales, threatening the government’s 6% annual growth rate target for 2019, and worries mounted over food price inflation as a result of African swine fever, which has affect pork production.

Violence continued in Hong Kong. Police fired tear gas near Polytechnic University and closed a major cross0harbor tunnel after toll booths were hit by gasoline bombs. Classes have been suspended at all primary and secondary schools through Sunday, and universities announced they’ll be shortening terms. The violence has sent hundreds of Taiwanese students home.

Elsewhere, President Trump said he wants to expand trade with Turkey to $100 billion a year from the current $20 billion level.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers the Fed has no plans to adjust interest rates in the near term despite pressure from Trump to lower them into negative territory. Powell said the economy remains steady.

Global markets were mostly lower.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed off 0.93% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gave up 0.76% and China’s Shanghai Composite eased up 0.16%. Australia S&P/ASX added 0.55%.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 closed off 0.8% while the German DAX dipped 0.38% and the French CAC lost 0.1%. The Stoxx Europe 600 was off 0.29%.

On currency markets, the British pound added 0.19% at $1.2877 while the euro edged up 0.07% to $1.1017. The U.S. dollar index was off 0.18%.

Oil futures were mixed. Crude oil slipped 0.25% to $56.98 a barrel while Brent crude increased 0.14% to $62.46. Gold and silver futures also were higher.