Stocks opened lower amid confusion surrounding the details of the tariff truce struck by Presidents Trump and Xi. The lack of details, as well as mixed signals from White House advisors, is concerning market participants as to what was actually agreed upon between the U.S. and China. The air of caution has kept downward pressure on stocks, keeping them subdued throughout the morning.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no economic data of note was released. In a series of tweets earlier regarding trade talks with China, President Donald Trump said negotiations with China have already started and unless extended, "they will end 90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina." Trump added that "President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will [...] If a fair deal is able to be made with China, one that does all of the many things we know must be finally done, I will happily sign."
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Apple (AAPL) are under pressure after HSBC analyst Erwan Rambourg downgraded the stock to Hold as he believes growth in the company's core iPhone business is set to "slow dramatically." Meanwhile, iPhone supplier Cirrus Logic (CRUS) cut its third quarter revenue view due to smartphone weakness, becoming the latest in a line of the company's chip customers to do so. Near noon, Apple shares are down 2% while Cirrus has slid 1%.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Clovis Oncology (CLVS), which rose 10% after the European Patent Office upheld its Rubraca patent claims. Also higher was RH (RH), which gained 13% after the luxury home hardware retailer reported better than expected quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Carvana (CVNA), which fell 10% after CarMax (KMX) formally announced its omni-channel offering to allow consumers to buy a car completely from home, in-store or a combination. Also lower was Conn's (CONN), which declined 9.5% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 255.12, or 0.99%, to 25,571.31, the Nasdaq was down 96.00, or 1.29%, to 7,345.51, and the S&P 500 was down 29.64, or 1.06%, to 2,760.73.
CarMax
-0.88 (-1.34%)
Carvana
-3.86 (-9.02%)
RH
+16.83 (+13.61%)
Clovis
+2 (+10.48%)
Cirrus Logic
-0.42 (-1.09%)
Apple
-4.17 (-2.25%)
Conn's
-2.55 (-8.82%)