Investing.com - U.S. stocks headed lower at Monday’s open, kick-starting a holiday-shortened week in negative territory, as investors digested mixed signals over developments on trade between the U.S. and China and a report of negative news for Apple dampened investor sentiment.
At 9:31 AM ET (14:31 GMT), the Dow Jones fell 68 points, or 0.27% to 25,345.29 points, the S&P 500 lost 7 points, or 0.24%, to 2,729.62 while the Nasdaq Composite traded down 29 points, or 0.40%, to 7,218.56 points.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that his administration may not impose tariffs on more Chinese goods after China sent a list of measures that it would be prepared to take in order to help resolve a trade dispute between the two nations.
But hopes that Trump’s remarks might signal a change in the direction of negotiations were dashed by Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday. Pence insisted that the U.S. will not back down from its trade dispute with China, and might even double its tariffs, unless Beijing bows to U.S. demands.
Pence’s comments dashed hopes of meaningful progress between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 meeting to be held at the end of the month.
U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods are set to increase to 25% from 10% on Jan. 1.
Also dampening appetite for equities, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) {{news- 1692998 ||cut production orders for all three new iPhone models}}, according to The Wall Street Journal. Shares slumped 2%.
On the economic front, no major reports will be released on Monday, though San Francisco Federal Reserve president John Williams (NYSE:WMB) will be putting in two separate appearances at 10:45 AM ET (15:45 GMT) and 3:15 PM ET (20:15 GMT) that investors will watch for any comments on the outlook for monetary policy after a series of dovish comments last week from policymakers.
With the Thanksgiving holiday this week -- the U.S. stock markets will be closed on Thursday and open only a half day on Friday -- investors will focus on housing data out Tuesday and durable goods orders on Wednesday.
In the final drizzle of third-quarter earnings this week, retailers will remain in the spotlight. L Brands (NYSE:LB) and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) are both due to report after markets close on Monday.
Among other retailers, Target (NYSE:TGT), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), TJX (NYSE:TJX), and Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) are scheduled to release results Tuesday morning, while Gap (NYSE:GPS), Foot Locker (NYSE:FL), and BJs Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) are due after the closing bell.