Weak China data weigh on markets

US stocks ended lower on Tuesday as market sentiment was undermined by weak China import data. The dollar slipped against most major currencies as dovish comments by Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday relieved fears of interest rate hike. The ICE dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell to 94.74 from 94.85. S&P 500 fell 0.7% but closed above 2,000 level at 2,003.69, with all ten sectors declining led by health care and industrial stocks. Dow Jones Industrial Average live chart data indicate Dow dropped 0.3%, snapping a seven day winning streak. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in a speech that the central bank “should gradually raise interest rates.” Daniel Tarullo, member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and a voting member of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, said he doesn’t expect conditions to be appropriate to raise interest rates this year. Shares of JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, fell 0.7% despite a 22% reported rise in third quarter profits as the firm cut expenses and had $2.2 billion in tax benefits. Bank of America and Wells Fargo will report quarterly earnings today. Today at 12:00 CET Mortgage Applications will be released in America. At 13:30 CET September preliminary Retail Sales will be released. The tentative outlook is neutral. At the same time Producer Price Index for September is expected to come out lower than the previous month. At 15:00 CET September Business Inventories will be published. The tentative outlook is neutral. And at 19:00 CET Federal Reserve Releases the Beige Book.
European stocks retreated for the second consecutive session on Tuesday as weak monthly trade data from China weighed on market sentiment. Euro rose against the dollar hitting the highest level since mid-September. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.9% dragged down by auto and mining stocks. Volkswagen shares ended lower 2.1% as the car maker said it would cut investments by 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) a year and modify the diesel technology used in its cars. Germany's DAX 30 index lost 0.9%, dragged down by auto stocks and fall in E.ON and RWE utilities as investors took profits following previous day’s strong gains. Results of closely watched ZEW survey did little to bolster investor optimism as they indicated the index of economic expectations for October fell to 1.9, lowest level in a year, from 12.1 in September. SABMiller rallied 9% after the brewer accepted a takeover offer by Anheuser-Busch InBev worth more than $100 billion. Office for National Statistics reported today UK unemployment fell unexpectedly to 5.4% between June and August from 5.5% in the previous three months. At 10:00 CET August industrial production will be released in euro-zone. The tentative outlook is negative.
Nikkei fell 1.9% today after lower than expected inflation in China spurred worries of slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy. Sectors with broad exposure to China such as steel, machinery and shipping stocks underperformed.
Oil futures prices are steady today after closing lower on Tuesday following International Energy Agency report indicating global oil supply glut will persist through 2016 as demand growth slows from a five-year high and key OPEC members maintain near-record output.
Base metals are falling today after weaker-than-expected Chinese inflation data raised concerns about demand prospects from the world’s biggest consumer of metals.