US Stocks Open Higher Despite Talks on Delisting Chinese Firms

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher opening on Monday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the weakness seen last Friday.

Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to news that a Treasury Department spokeswoman denied reports the Trump administration is considering delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges

?The administration is not contemplating blocking Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. stock exchanges at this time. We welcome investment in the United States,? Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley said in a statement.

Crowley?s statement comes on the heels of reports suggesting the administration is contemplating ways to curb U.S. investments in China.

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro attacked the media reports in an interview with CNBC on Monday, claiming ?over half? of a Bloomberg report about potential restrictions was ?highly inaccurate or simply flat-out false.?

?This story was just so full of inaccuracies and in terms of the truth of the matter, what the Treasury said I think was accurate,? Navarro said.

Better than expected manufacturing data out of China may also temper some of the recent concerns about the impact of the U.S.-China trade war.

After seeing considerable volatility in the morning, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages all slid firmly into negative territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Dow dipped 70.87 points or 0.3 percent to 26,820.25, the Nasdaq tumbled 91.03 points or 1.1 percent to 7,939.63 and the S&P 500 fell 15.83 points or 0.5 percent to 2,961.79.

For the week, the Nasdaq plunged by 2.2 percent, the S&P 500 slumped by 1 percent and the Dow dropped by 0.4 percent.

Stocks moved to the downside after a report from Bloomberg News said Trump administration officials are discussing ways to limit U.S. investors’ portfolio flows into China.

Citing people familiar with the internal deliberations, Bloomberg noted the move would have repercussions for billions of dollars in investment pegged to major indexes.

A source family with the matter confirmed to CNBC that the White House is weighing some curbs on U.S. investments in China but noted the discussions are in the preliminary stages and nothing has been decided.

The reports reflect the ever-changing landscape of U.S.-China relations that has kept traders reluctant to make significant bets.

Earlier in the day, traders expressed some optimism about U.S.-China trade talks after a report from CNBC said negotiations are set to resume October 10th in Washington.

A person close to the talks said Chinese Vice Premier Liu He would be representing the delegation from Beijing at the meetings.

The U.S. and China held deputy-level trade talks last week, although Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called off a trip by Chinese officials to U.S. farms.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report unexpectedly showing a modest increase in U.S. durable goods orders in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose by 0.2 percent in August after jumping by 2.0 percent in July. The continued increase surprised economists, who had expected orders to pull back by 1.0 percent.

Excluding a drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders increased by 0.5 percent in August after falling by 0.5 percent in July. Economists had expected ex-transportation orders to rise by 0.2 percent.

However, the report also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, edged down by 0.2 percent in August after coming in unchanged in July.

A separate Commerce Department report showed U.S. personal income rose in line with economist estimates in the month of August, although personal spending inched up by less than expected.

The Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in August after ticking up by 0.1 percent in July. The increase in income matched economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the report said personal spending crept up by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by 0.5 percent in July. Spending had been expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

Semiconductor stocks showed a significant move to the downside over the course of the trading session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.4 percent.

Chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) led the sector lower after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results but providing disappointing guidance.

Considerable weakness was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The weakness in the gold sector came as the price of the precious metal climbed off its worst levels but still showed a notable decrease.

Software, telecom, and oil service stocks also came under pressure as the day progressed, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.