US open: Wall Street trading starts off strong despite resurfacing trade worries

Wall Street trading began with some early gains on Tuesday following losses in the previous session, with trade relations between the US and China in focus again.

At 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.68% higher at 24,609.94, while the S&P 500 had gained 0.31% to 2,649.93 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.27% firmer at 7,069.37.

US stocks attempted to climb their way back after the Dow Jones ended the previous session with a triple-digit point loss after an ugly reversal thanks, in part, to comments made by Donald Trump.

Trade relations between the US and China were back in the spotlight again after Donald Trump said he expects a "great deal" with China, even as he reiterated a threat of more tariffs - on another $257bn worth of goods - if a deal isn't agreed.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "The levels of volatility we're seeing right now isn't going to give anyone confidence that we're not headed for further declines in the markets. We did see a late rally in the US session on Monday which may suggest pessimism isn't quite as rife as it's been in recent weeks although it's difficult to read too much into any rallies at the moment."

"Any ray of hope seems to be quickly dashed by the market taking another dive lower, this particular correction may well have longer to run."

In corporate news, Under Armour surged 24% in early trade after the sportswear company's third-quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations.

Coca-Cola shares were up 1.48% after its third-quarter sales surpassed forecasts.

Chesapeake Energy was down nearly 12.65% in early trade after agreeing to buy oil and gas company WildHorse - which has operations in the Eagle Ford Shale and Austin Chalk formations in southeast Texas - in a deal valued at around $3.98bn. Under the terms of the deal, WildHorse shareholders will receive either 5.989 Chesapeake shares or a combination of 5.336 shares and $3 in cash, for each of their shares.

General Electric tumbled 8% after revealing a major restructuring programme and slashed its quarterly dividend from 12 cents to 1 cent after incurring a $22bn write-down.

Pfizer lost 1.30% at the bell after its mixed quarterly results led the pharmaceutical group to narrow its full-year forecast.

Mastercard slipped 1.74% after the release of its third-quarter numbers and Cummins shares dipped 1.26% despite the engine maker posting a 53% increase in third-quarter profit.

Facebook and EA Sports were both set to report after the close.

On the data front, the US housing market lost further momentum in August, as the year-on-year rate of house price growth fell below 6% for the first time in a year.

According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, nationally prices rose 5.8% in August, down from the 6% year-on-year increase reported in July.

The 10-City Composite saw an annual increase of 5.1%, down from 5.5% in July, and the 20-City a 5.5% gain, which was lower than July’s 5.9% growth.

America's housing market is adjusting to low inventories and rising building costs, as well as an increase in the cost of borrowing. The Federal Reserve has upped interest rates eight times since 2015, to the current range of 2%-2.25%, and most economists have the next rise pencilled in for as soon as December 2018.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.29 4.16%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.35 2.98%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.99 2.67%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $47.08 2.54%
Boeing Co. (BA) $343.69 2.41%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $175.78 2.06%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $105.44 1.95%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $139.64 1.95%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $101.74 1.94%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $176.38 1.78%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $116.90 -6.32%
Visa Inc. (V) $132.15 -1.62%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $42.59 -1.46%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $102.48 -1.32%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $51.93 -0.27%
American Express Co. (AXP) $101.25 0.06%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $88.46 0.25%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $121.62 0.44%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $213.24 0.47%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $72.00 0.74%

S&P 500 - Risers

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $23.00 26.37%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $71.69 15.54%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $95.15 13.00%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $66.39 8.62%
Kroger Co. (KR) $29.78 7.99%
SCANA Corp. (SCG) $40.04 7.84%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $29.54 7.73%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $90.61 6.44%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $17.47 6.36%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $78.19 5.98%

S&P 500 - Fallers

FLIR Systems Inc. (FLIR) $45.53 -14.47%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.26 -12.50%
L3 Technologies Inc (LLL) $185.43 -9.22%
Harris Corp. (HRS) $146.02 -9.21%
General Electric Co. (GE) $10.22 -8.42%
Allergan plc (AGN) $161.97 -6.81%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $116.83 -6.38%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $39.74 -5.77%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $288.32 -5.48%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $65.74 -5.03%