Dec 8 (Reuters) – Wall Street looked set to open lower on Tuesday as weak trade data out of China reignited fears of a global economic slowdown and oil prices continued to slide. All three major indexes were moving higher within a tight range a few minutes after the opening bell.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 186.1 points, or 1%, to 17,545.
Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.3 per cent at a five-week low and Australian shares pared earlier declines to end the day 0.8 per cent lower.
U.S. complete nonfarm payroll employment elevated by 211,000 in November, beating market estimates of 200,000, and the unemployment price was unchanged at 5 %, the Labour Department stated on Friday.
Norfolk Southern shares fell $5.20, or 5.7 percent, to $86.32 after the company rejected Canadian Pacific’s latest takeover offer. The losses were broad, with seven of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closing lower. The Shanghai composite index also lost 0.5%. The three major indexes later tried for gains.
Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s meeting on 15-16 December, when it is widely expected to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.
“The API inventory stats coming out after the close [last night] were modestly helpful, showing a draw of 1.6m barrels and crude is up about 50 cents this morning”. Higher interest rates increase the cost of storing commodities, and make them less attractive for investors seeking better returns across assets.
The OPEC report was the first since the cartel last week chose to essentially raise its production ceiling to 31.5 million barrels of oil a day, to reflect the current actual production, a move that sent oil prices tumbling. That stance combined with slower global growth has left the world awash in oil, pushing down prices to their lowest level since 2009.
The energy index.SPNY trimmed earlier gains to close up 1.3 percent after falling more than 10 percent since December 1.
The Bank of England left its main lending rate unchanged at 0.5% and the inflation remains low and the central bank guided the rate of inflation is likely to be below 1% until the second-half of next year.
Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG.N shares fell 4.1 percent to $529.21 after 30 Boston College students fell ill after eating at the company’s restaurant over the weekend.
Gold slipped 0.4 per cent at $US1,072.00 a troy ounce.
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Following a relatively quiet week on the economic front, trading on Friday may be impacted by the release of a slew of US economic data, including reports on retail sales, producer prices, and consumer sentiment.
