Futures Fall, E.U. Falls As Geopolitics Drags On Sentiment, China Blames U.S.

The U.S. Futures Are Down In Early Monday Trading

The U.S. Futures are down in early Monday trading. Trader sentiment has soured on the increasingly negative trade rhetoric. Over the weekend Chinese Vice Premier Wang Shouwen released a white paper that places the blame for failed trade talks on the U.S. In the paper, Wang says the U.S. cannot pressure China into concessions. He made no comment on whether Xi and Trump would meet at next month’s G-20 meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both down about -0.25% in the premarket session, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite was down about twice that.

In stock news, shares of Google parent Alphabet fell more than -3.0% in early trading. The Internet behemoth is under investigation for antitrust violations that may curb profit expectations if proved true. Shares of Caterpillar and Boeing were also down hard in early trading but for different reasons. The two industrial giants are heavily exposed to China and likely to suffer the most as trade ties stagnate.

In other news, oil prices rebound in early trading. The price of WTI was up nearly 2.0% after OPEC reaffirmed it’s tightening scheme. In economic news, the final read on Markit PMI and the ISM Manufacturing Index are due out later today. Also due out later today is construction spending.

EU Markets Move Lower As Geopolitical Tensions Mount

The EU indices were marginally lower in early Monday trading. The DAX, FTSE 100, and CAC were also down about -0.15% at midday. The move is driven by negative sentiment as geopolitical tensions mount. The EU is facing political headwinds from without and within that are going to drag on its growth over the next year. The energy sector was among the biggest losers despite a rebound in oil prices. The sector was down about -1.30%.

Shares of Wirecard were among the biggest gainers. The move is driven by positive statements that come at an opportune time. Shares of the stock just sold off on word the company was used in financial frauds perpetrated by scam brokers. Today’s news had the stock up nearly 3.0%. Shares of UK supermarket chain Ocado fell more than -4.0% on a downgrade from Jeffries. Shares of German chip-maker Infineon fell nearly -6.0% after it announced the purchase of U.S.-based Cypress Semiconductor.

Asia Lower Despite Positive Data From China

Most Asian markets were lower despite positive data from China. China’s Caixin PMI, a measure of small and mid-cap/privately run business, came in at 50.2. This is above the expected 50.0 and the 49.2 posted by the official PMI last week. Any reading above 50 suggests growth within the manufacturing economy, good news in troubled times.

The Shanghai Composite fell -0.30% while the Hong Kong Hang Seng fell only -0.03%. The Japanese Nikkei fell nearly a full percent on weakness in Softbank. Australia led losses with a decline of -1.19% but the trend was bucked by Korea. The Kospi rose nearly 1.30% on strength in Samsung and SK Hynix.