US open: Wall Street trading starts with losses as NAFTA concerns mount
Wall Street trading began with losses across the board on Thursday as investors continued to keep an eye on the latest trade talks between the US and Mexico and Canada.
At 1510 BST, the Dow Jones had lost 0.23% to 26,066.12, while the S&P 500 was down 0.15% to 2,909.55 and the Nasdaq was 0.15% softer at 8,097.45.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at Capital Index, said: "Events weighing on investors include the continuing trade dispute between the US and China, which has flared its head once again, and the as-yet unsigned NAFTA deal is also leaving investors nervous."
Trump said on Wednesday that he was optimistic Canada will join the new US trade deal with Mexico that is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"I think Canada very much wants to make the deal," he told reporters at the White House, adding that it probably "won't be good at all" if they don't.
Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said it was a "very intense moment" in the negotiating process and that they were trying "to get a lot of things done very quickly".
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, said a NAFTA deal might be possible by Friday's deadline.
"We recognise that there is a possibility of getting there by Friday, but it is only a possibility, because it will hinge on whether or not there is ultimately a good deal for Canada," he said, adding that no deal was better than a bad deal.
In corporate news, shares of Signet Jewelers surged 23.61% following its second-quarter earnings beat expectations and the company bumped up its guidance.
Ciena Corp also shot up at the open, rising 15.61% after the bell as the networking company's third-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts' expectations.
Burlington Stores dipped 2.93% lower in early trade as the off-price department store retailer's second-quarter earnings impressed but same-store sales fell a little short.
Dollar General lost 0.67% at the opening bell even as its quarterly same-store sales surpassed expectations, while Campbell Soup fell 1.18% after saying it would sell its international businesses and fresh food unit.
On the data front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week rose a little less than expected, according to data from the Labor Department.
US initial jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 213,000, missing expectations for a slightly larger jump to 214,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 212,250, down 1,500 from the previous week and marking the lowest level since 13 December 1969. The four-week average is considered more reliable as it smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly figures, giving a more accurate picture of the health of the labour market.
Elsewhere, personal incomes and spending in the States rose roughly as expected last month, albeit alongside slightly stronger price pressures.
According to the Department of Commerce, personal incomes and spending in the US increased at a month-on-month clip of 0.3% and 0.4% in July, with the rate of increase in the former falling about a tenth of a percentage point below economists' forecasts.