Wall Street opens lower amid resurfacing trade concerns

• Out of 11 major S&P 500 sectors, only energy is in the positive territory.
• US Pres. Trump  says there is a long way to go on tariffs.
• Today’s data showed that personal spending and personal income increased more than expected in the U.S.

After closing the previous day with decisive gains following FOMC Chairman Powell’s dovish shift, major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day moderately lower on Thursday. Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump, via Twitter, said that American companies were receiving billions of dollar because of  tariffs being charged to China  and “there is a long way to go,” Trump added.

The trade-sensitive S&P 500 Industrials and Materials indexes were both down 0.15% as of writing.  

On the other hand, heightened hopes of Russia joining the OPEC in additional output cuts in 2019 provided a boost to crude oil prices and allowed the barrel of West Texas  Intermediate ro gain more than 2% on the day. Consequently, the S&P 500 Energy Index started the day in the positive territory and was last seen up 0.5%.

Later in the session, the FOMC will release the minutes of its November meeting and a dovish tone could help Wall Street gain traction in the second half of the day similar to what we’ve witnessed yesterday.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 0.25%, the S&P 500 was down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was erasing 0.37% on the day.