US open: Stocks fall into the red as rally runs out of steam

US stocks had slipped into the red shortly after the open on Friday, unable to hold on to opening gains as the rally that started late in the previous session lost steam.

At 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.2% at 23,095.53 and 2,483.52, respectively, while the Nasdaq was 0.5% lower at 6,547.89. On Wednesday, stocks managed to reverse early losses and end up, with the Dow closing 1.1% firmer a day after notching its biggest-ever one-day points gain.

The upbeat mood was short-lived, however, and a volatile last week of trading for 2018 still left US stocks on course for a year of losses and a weak December, with the Nasdaq having entered bear market territory and a veritable raft of issues for investors to worry about.

Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, pointed out that all the same headwinds prevail: US government shutdown, US/China trade uncertainty, Brexit, monetary policy tightening, and oil supply/demand.

Concerns about Sino-US relations were still very much on investors’ minds following a Reuters report on Thursday suggesting that US President Trump was considering an executive order that would ban US wireless carriers from buying equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE.

There wasn’t a whole lot going on on the corporate front, but electric car maker Tesla gained ground as it added Oracle's Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to the board as part of a settlement with US regulators.

In macro news, data released earlier showed economic activity in the Chicago area deteriorated less than expected in December.

The MNI Chicago Business Barometer fell to 65.4 this month from 66.4 in November, but it was still better than expectations for a reading of 62.0.

Three out of the five barometer sub-components lost ground on the month, but solid gains in production and order backlogs helped the headline index maintain most of November’s eight point rise.

MNI Indicators economist Jai Lakhani said: "The MNI Chicago Business Barometer saw 2018 out in good health, assisted by a firm uptick in production, cementing the best calendar quarter outturn in a year.

"Encouragingly, inflationary pressures subsided for a fifth consecutive month and should this continue, it will ease the burden on firms‘ productive capacities. Still, concerns over tariffs continue to linger in the background and stir uncertainty."

Elsewhere, figures form the National Association of Realtors revealed that US pending home sales unexpectedly fell last month.

The NAR’s monthly index came in at 101.4, down 0.7% from 102.1 in October and missing expectations for a 0.7% increase.

Year-over-year, contract signings dropped 7.7%, marking the eleventh straight month of annual decreases.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the current sales numbers don’t fully take into account other data.

"The latest decline in contract signings implies more short-term pullback in the housing sector and does not yet capture the impact of recent favourable conditions of mortgage rates," he said.

He added that while pending contracts have reached their lowest mark since 2014, there is no reason to be overly concerned, as he predicts solid growth potential for the long term.

The pending home sales index in the Northeast rose 2.7% 95.1 in November, while the index for the Midwest fell 2.3% to 98.1.

Pending home sales in the South fell 2.7% to an index of 115.7 in November, while for the West, the gauge increased 2.8% 87.2.