Wall Street opens modestly lower on revived trade war concerns

• European stocks look to close the day in the red.
• Technology slides on Apple sell-off.
• Latest headlines revive concerns over trade conflict between the U.S. and China.

Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in the negative territory on Tuesday as investors stay cautious ahead of the G20 summit, at which US President Trump and his Chinese Counterpart Xi are expected to negotiate on trade.

Yesterday, the WSJ reported that President Trump would move ahead with the increase in tariff rate and would introduce a 10% on iPhones as well as other consumer electronics. As of writing, Apple shares were down more than 1% on the day and the S&P 500 Technology Index  was losing 1.1%.  

Earlier today,  China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that  the US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi have agreed to reach mutually beneficial agreements. although these remarks boosted the market sentiment, Shuang clarified his statement by saying that he was referring to a phone call that took place between leaders on November 1. Additionally,  China Vice Premier Liu told reporters that they wanted a negotiated solution on the trade that was based on mutual respect.

The trade sensitive S&P 500 Industrials and Materials indexes were losing 0.85% and 1.05%, respectively.

Today’s data released by Dow Jones Indices and the FHFA both showed that house prices rose less than expected in September.  

At the time of press, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.75%, the S&P 500 was losing 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 0.7%.