- S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes close lower in four sessions
- New home sales fall more than expected after U.S. shutdown
- Investors left grappling after U.S. and China negotiations are further stalled
Thursday saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes clip lower in four consecutive sessions after the U.S. released weak home sales information whereas Wall Street was caught up in the assessment of U.S.-China trade latest news.
Communication service groups registered a downward spin led by Facebook which pulled the S&P down 0.1 percent. Nasdaq was weighed down by Facebook shares forcing it to close 0.15 percent below. The Dow, in the meanwhile, showed positive feedback by eking out a 7-point gain.
A slow down on its main core apps; WhatsApp and Instagram, caused Facebook to slide 1.9 percent. This also came about after The New York Times made claims of federal prosecutors’ investigations touching on data deals the company conducted with other tech giants.
New Homes Suffer after Shutdown
January saw new home sales fall by 6.9 percent which is more than previously expected estimation. It is also an indication the U.S. government shutdown could have led buyers out.
Trade negotiations between China and the U.S. left investors grappling.
Three sources linked to the matter informed CNBC about China’s plans to initiate a formal state visit to the U.S. for a trade deal announcement. China wants a deal to be fully initiated and ironed out before Chinese President Xi Jinping has a sit down with Donald Trump according to the sources. However, Trump prefers to close the deal with Xi in person the sources further reiterated.
China and the U.S. are trying to offset a meeting between the two leaders with each trying to push it from late March to early April according to Bloomberg which also suggested that Trump was in no particular hurry to negotiate the deal. Bloomberg’s report comes after China’s industrial output slowed down, the lowest in 17 years.
The two leaders are expected to make trade agreements later this month at Mar-a-Lago after the two sides claiming progress was being initiated on the trade negotiations.
Jason Pride, a chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede said the two countries are still expected to reach a deal, but optimism around U.S.-China trade negotiations is “fading”:
“The prospect for an imminent deal, which the market appeared to have priced in, has waned in the short-run” he further echoed.
