By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
China's president convenes meeting of officials to discuss
growth
U.S. stock futures indicated losses for Wall Street on Tuesday,
as fresh concerns over the state of the global economy and grade
were set to greet investors returning from the long holiday
weekend.
Earnings will also swing into focus, with a busy week ahead.
How are the benchmarks trading?
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 193 points, or 0.8%,
to 24,495, while S&P 500 futures dropped 20.85 points, or 0.8%,
to 2,650.50. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 68.25 points, or 1%, to
6,725.
Stocks closed higher for the fourth-straight session on Friday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-extend-gains-as-investors-cling-to-hope-of-trade-resolution-2019-01-18).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 336.25 points, or 1.4%, to
end at 24,706.35 for a weekly gain of 3%. The S&P 500 index
advanced 1.3% to 2,670.71, up 2.9% for the week. The Nasdaq
Composite added 1% to 7,157.23, finishing out the week 2.7%
higher.
What's driving markets?
After the country posted the slowest annual pace
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-posts-slowest-economic-growth-since-1990-2019-01-20)
of annual growth -- 6.6% -- since 1990, President Xi Jinping
reportedly convened a meeting of high-level Communist Party
officials
(https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-22/xi-jingping-china-president-warns-black-swans-grey-rhinos/10736442),
urging them to be alert over "black swan" and "grey rhino"
financial events in face of an economic slowdown. Trade tensions
are partly to blame for the weak data.
Read:On trade, China's private-equity king is 'hopeful for the
best, prepared for the worst'
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/on-trade-chinas-private-equity-king-is-hopeful-for-the-best-prepared-for-the-worst-2019-01-19)
Citing that weak data, President Donald Trump tweeted late
Monday that China needs to "finally do a Real Deal and stop playing
around," when it comes to trade. But the two countries reportedly
remain
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-remain-at-loggerheads-over-intellectual-theft-issue-reports-2019-01-21)
far apart on key issues such as theft of intellectual property,
which the U.S. says China has engaged in for decades.
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1087469381586771973)
On Saturday, Trump said stock-rallying reports
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-says-stock-rallying-reports-of-lifting-chinese-trade-sanctions-were-premature-2019-01-19)last
week that the U.S. would ease tariffs on China were not correct,
even as he said talks were "going very well."
Potentially adding to trade tensions was a report
(https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/22/huawei-exec-meng-wanzhou-us-to-formally-seek-extradition-report-says.html)
that the U.S. plans to formally request from Canada the extradition
of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, over allegations
she lied about the company's dealings with Iran.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the International Monetary Fund cut its
global growth forecast to 3.5% for 2019, from 3.7% in 2018
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imf-cuts-world-economic-forecast-for-2019-citing-trade-tensions-2019-01-21)
and from the 3.7% it predicted for 2019 back in October. Unveiling
its forecasts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
the fund left its prediction for U.S. growth this year unchanged at
2.5%.
A partial government shutdown stretched into its 31st day on
Tuesday, and there was little sign of the deadlock breaking.
Democrats rejected Trump's latest proposal
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/democrats-dismiss-trumps-latest-plan-but-it-may-get-senate-vote-2019-01-20)
to temporarily extend protections for young immigrants brought to
the country illegally in exchange for $5.7 billion for his border
wall.
The shutdown has caused a backlog of economic data
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-is-hitting-more-turbulence-but-the-shutdown-leaves-investors-partly-in-the-dark-2019-01-19),
with only a smattering of reports due this week, including existing
home sales, jobless claims and Markit manufacturing and services
purchasing managers index data.
Opinion: These 3 leading economic indicators show no recession
is coming
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-3-leading-economic-indicators-say-no-recession-is-coming-2019-01-21)
On the earnings front, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , IBM Corp.
(IBM) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will all report
Tuesday.
IBM earnings:Emerging tech expected to account for half of sales
as revenue declines
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-earnings-emerging-tech-expected-to-account-for-half-of-sales-as-revenue-declines-2019-01-17)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-earnings-emerging-tech-expected-to-account-for-half-of-sales-as-revenue-declines-2019-01-17)And:Tech
is ready to respond to Wall Street's doubts, but don't expect a
holiday miracle
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tech-companies-are-ready-to-respond-to-wall-streets-doubts-but-dont-expect-a-holiday-miracle-2019-01-17)
How are other markets trading?
Trade and growth worries weighed on Asia markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-slip-on-global-growth-worries-2019-01-21),
with the Shanghai Composite Index sliding 1.4%. In Europe, stocks
were hinting of opening losses at the start of trading.
Crude oil dropped nearly 1% to $53.29 a barrel, while gold
slipped 0.3% to $1,278.40 an ounce and the U.S. dollar was
unchanged.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2019 03:13 ET (08:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.