Wall Street eases lower amid talks of delay to US-China summit

US stocks ticked lower on Thursday, ending a three-day winning streak that had carried the S&P 500 to its highest level since November.

Elsewhere, Treasuries slipped and Brent crude faded from a four-month high, slowing a rally for European energy stocks, after talk of a delay to a top-level summit between the US and China hit sentiment.

Reports that a meeting between the presidents of China and the US would be pushed back into April from March — first carried by Bloomberg — were reflected by a range of assets.

The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were down 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of less than 0.1 per cent gain on a strong day for shares in Apple and Visa. The dollar index rose 0.2 per cent to 96.782.

Concern that a delay to a summit could reflect a lack of a breakthrough on trade talks chimed with more bleak data showing the impact of the existing tariffs. Figures showing industrial output growth in the country falling to a 17-year low preceded a 0.7 per cent fall for mainland China’s CSI 300.

Australia’s dollar also fell, tracking the country’s status as a major exporter to China. The currency was 0.4 per cent weaker at $0.7066, taking it back towards its lowest levels of the month.

Brent crude declined 0.5 per cent having earlier traded at its highest since mid-November. The international oil price had been tracking expectations for tighter supply due to supply curbs from Opec and US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran.

The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 put in a stronger showing, up 0.8 per cent overall, with hopes that disruption from a disorderly Brexit could be avoided after the UK parliament voted against leaving the EU with no deal. Most sectors were in the black, led by real estate and household goods.

Snapshot

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