US Market takes a breather after trade talks, earnings in focus

The US stock market finished lower for the first time in straight four sessions on Monday, 14 October 2019, as a lack of clarity over the first phase of a U.S.-China trade negotiations dampened sentiment and investors turned toward third-quarter earnings season, which begins in earnest on Tuesday. At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29.23 points, or 0.1%, to 26787.36. The S&P 500 edged down 4.12 points, or 0.1%, to 2966.15 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 8.39 points, or 0.1%, to 8048.65. Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, five were trading in the red, with utilities suffering the largest percentage loss.

Investor risk sentiment dampened amid fading hopes that recent trade negotiations between the United States and China would bear fruit, as China indicated further talks were needed and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the next round of tariffs on Chinese imports are on track to go into effect on Dec. 15 if a deal has not been reached by then. And while U.S. President Donald Trump hailed his phase 1 of the U.S.-China trade deal "by far, the biggest deal ever made," no deal was committed to paper and most tariffs on Chinese imports remain in effect.

As part of phase 1 of the U.S.-China trade deal, China would buy between $40 billion and $50 billion in U.S. agricultural products. China also agreed to address intellectual-property concerns raised by the U.S. In return, the U.S. agreed to hold off on a tariff hike scheduled for this week. The world's two largest economies have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of one another's goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.

Third-quarter reporting season bursts through the starting gate on Tuesday, with a slew of major banks set to report on Tuesday. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are all scheduled to release their results from the previous quarter. Investors will now keep a close watch on the earnings season to gauge the impact of the trade conflict and a sluggish domestic economy on corporate America.

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