NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks moved broadly lower in early trading as the U.S. and China prepare for their latest round of trade talks.
Envoys from both nations are expected to meet this week to try and put an end to the dispute that is stunting global economic growth and spooking the stock market.
Technology stocks, including Microsoft and Apple, led the market lower. The sector is particularly sensitive to any news in the trade dispute and the latest round of talks could prompt more volatility.
Banks and industrial companies were also among the biggest losers. Target fell 1.3% and 3M fell 1%.
Every sector in the S&P 500 headed lower, though real estate companies and utilities held up better than the rest of the market. Those sectors are considered safe-play investments that investors favor when they want to reduce risk.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.54% from 1.51%.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96 points, or 0.4%, to 26,477. The Nasdaq fell 0.3%.
MARKET NERVES: The early slide on Monday extends last week’s losses. Investors digested a series of mostly disappointing economic reports last week that showed the U.S.-China trade war is hurting manufacturing and threatening U.S. economic growth. Some of those fears were allayed on Friday when a government jobs report showed that employers are still adding jobs at a healthy clip and that the national unemployment rate dropped to a five-decade low.
Still, last week marked the third weekly loss in a row for the broader market as the trade war takes its toll on confidence.
OVERSEAS: European stocks moved broadly higher. Economic warning signs again flashed after Germany reported that factory orders dropped for a second consecutive month in August. Germany is Europe’s largest economy and a gauge of the continent’s economic health as investors grow more concerned about a broad slowdown in growth.
Stocks in Asia were mixed and Chinese markets are due to reopen on Tuesday after a weeklong break.
BAD GEAR: General Motors fell 1% as contract talks aimed at ending a 21-day strike by the United Auto Workers have taken a turn for the worse. The negotiations are hitting a big snag over product commitments for U.S. factories, a union official wrote in an email to members.
FULL PLATE: Fox rose 1% after the company settled a dispute with Dish Network over carriage of Fox’s local TV stations and cable sports networks. Dish pulled the broadcast network from 17 markets in September.
AP reporter Damian J. Troise