US open: Markets open lower amid uncertainty from China

US stocks fell on Monday, after the Chinese finance minister, Lou Jiwei, quelled speculations that his government would boost stimulus.

Jiwei announced Beijing was not considering any drastic alterations to its policy in response to changes in individual economic indicators, though he admitted growth faced downward pressure.

In corporate news, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation soared as high as 33.97% on Monday, after German pharmaceutical firm Merck KgaA announced it would buy takeover the US-based business for $17bn, or $140 per share in cash, a 37% premium to Sigma’s closing share price on Friday.

Apple rose slighlty after the company reported it had sold a record 10m iPhones in the first weekend after its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus went on sale in 10 different countries, a figure which surpassed last year’s tally of nine million units Apple sold in the first weekend after iPhone 5S and 5C were released.

Dresser-Rand gained after Siemens announced a deal to buy the US oil equipment producer for $7.6bn, while Autozone dropped almost 5% after its reported fourth quarter sales fell slightly below forecast.

Alibaba Group exercised an option to increase the size of its initial public offering (IPO) by 15% to $25bn, thus securing its place as the world’s largest ever IPO, but fell slightly after soaring as high as 38% on Friday.

“Friday’s Alibaba-driven excitement came off the back of a strong Scottish referendum result which provided a definitive conclusion to an event which provided significant degree of uncertainty within the markets,” said Joshua Mahony, research analyst at Alpari UK.

“With new all-time highs recorded in the S&P500 last week, it comes as no surprise that we are seeing an element of profit taking come into the market, which has also been seen in the USDJPY currency pair following the strongest period of upside since January 2013.”

Treasury prices rose as concerns over Chinese economy meant investors were leaning towards securities that benefit from uncertainty.

The 10-year treasury yield was down 0.03% to 2.59%, while the five-year note yield dropped 0.025% to 1.79% and the 30-year bond fell three basis points to 3.27%.

Gold prices added 50 cents and reached $1,217 an ounce, while silver prices rebounded after hitting four-year lows on Monday on dollar strength and the price of West Texas intermediate crude dropped slightly to $91.38 per barrel.

The dollar was on retreat against the pound, but it rose against both euro and yen.