US open: Mixed start to trading as investors mull over rumours of tariffs on Apple products
US stocks turned in some mixed results at the bell on Tuesday as investors digested the latest news surrounding trade relations with China after Donald Trump implied that he would impose tariffs on iPhones and laptops imported from China.
At 1520 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 0.29% at 24,569.44, while the S&P 500 was 0.04% higher at 2,674.54 and the Nasdaq was trading 0.11% firmer at 7,089.96.
Trade relations between China and the US were in focus again after Trump renewed his China tariff threats ahead of the G20 meeting at the end of the week, though China's foreign ministry spokesman told reporters that on a phone call earlier this month Trump and president Xi Jinping had agreed to reach a "mutually beneficial" arrangement on trade.
Reports of Trump and Xi's agreement initially sparked a flurry of buying, pushing US stock futures up by around 1% in a matter of minutes, but these gains were erased when it became clear that the comments were referring to a telephone call that had taken place at the start of the month.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "It is looking like the weekend’s G20 meeting is going to be a bust".
However, he did note there was "every chance" Trump's aggressive rhetoric could "all be intimidation tactics".
The dollar was 0.51% firmer against the pound at 0.7847, while Brent Crude was flat on $60.48 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.06% lower at $51.60.
On the corporate front, tech giant Apple was down 1.67% in early trading after rumours of the 10% tariffs began to circulate.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Any negative effects are likely to be overstated given that the firm was able to absorb the impact of lifting the ceiling price on its most expensive iPhone model by much more than that with its recent upgrades."
Shares of Micron and Nvidia were also down 1.29% and 0.59%, respectively.
Elsewhere, stock of United Technologies slumped 5.82% at the bell following a sell-off that came in the wake of an announcement late on Monday that it planned to separate into three independent companies and Bristol-Myers Squibb lost 5.08% after its newest study of a prospective skin-cancer drug failed to meet its primary endpoint.
On the data front, house price gains shrunk to their lowest levels since January 2017 in September, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.
The report revealed that, while home values were still rising, the gains had shrunk to the lowest level seen in over 18 months, as rising mortgage rates cut into affordability.
Prices increased 5.5% annually in September, down from the 5.7% recorded back in August
Elsewhere, the Consumer Confidence Index edged down to 135.7 in November from the 137.9 recorded a month earlier, according to the Conference Board.
While, the Present Situation Index – which is based on consumers' assessment of current business and labour market conditions – improved slightly, from 171.9 to 172.7, the Expectations Index – based on short-term outlooks – decreased from 115.1 last month to 111.
Investors were also taking in comments made by Jerome Powell's right-hand man Richard Clarida.
Clarida presented a relatively dovish stance in a Monday morning speech to a conference in New York, ahead of this month's Fed policy meeting when the central bank is expected to raise interest rates.