The Day Ahead: Stocks Dip on China Dispute and Start of Earnings Season
Posted To: MND NewsWire
After three days of gains, US equities are looking to start lower on Tuesday ahead of trade balance data for February. The caution is partly attributed to poor results late yesterday from Alcoa, who tipped off the Q1 earnings seasons by posting a loss of $201 million. The nation’s largest aluminum producer saw revenue advance by 18% in the quarter, but analyst expectations were even rosier. Also in the headlines is commentary that President Obama’s meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao didn’t go so well. Reuters reported that “Sino-U.S. tensions over the yuan threatened to escalate into a serious trade dispute,” and that “China would not be pushed by external pressure and would instead base any decision on the yuan on its own economic needs.” 90…(read more)