US shares close in red
S&P 500 and Nasdaq break winning streak
Signet Jewelers sinks
Wall Street shares closed in the red with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq breaking a six day winning streak.
The markets were wary after a report that China was considering halting purchases of US government debt.
Also in the mix was a report that Canadian officials expect President Trump to announce an end to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The Dow Jones was down 16 points at 25,369. The S&P 500 finished 3.06 lower at 2,748. The Nasdaq closed 10 points behind, at 7,153.
In Toronto, the TSX was down 80.57 points at 16,238.
MID-SESSION
FTSE 100 may have closed higher but US stocks were in the red on Wednesday, as the Dow Jones lost three points at 25,382 at mid-session.
The S&P 500 is off 3.03 at 2,748 and the Nasdaq is 21 points lower at 7,142.
In Toronto, the TSX is down almost 24 points at 16,295.
United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) shares added 6.59% to US$ 72.98 to be top gainer on S&P 500 on the back of traffic stats, which cheered the market.
The shine came off Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) shares today, shedding 6.84% to US$52.72.
The group's holiday sales numbers fell from a year ago.
The diamond jewelry retailer revealed that total sales for the nine weeks ending December 30 fell by 3.1% to US$1.88bn from US$1.94bn a year ago.
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OPEN
US stocks opened sharply lower after the recent highs following reports that China is considering cutting or halting its purchase of US bonds (government debt).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 120 points to 25,259, the S&P 500 lost 14 points to 2,737 and the Nasdaq fell over 44 points to 7,117.
Bloomberg reported that China has found that US bonds were becoming less attractive and that trade tensions with the country could provide a reason to stop buying US government paper.
The yield for the 10-year benchmark note rose 3.1 basis points to 2.59%.
On the company front, Eastman Kodak Co (NYSE:KODK shares doubled in value after saying it would begin a major blockchain initiative. Shares added over 74% in early deals having surged yesterday too.
Lennar Corp (NYSE:LEN) shares fell after reporting weaker-than-expected fourth quarter profit.
The dollar weakened against a bag of currencies.
In economic data, the US import price index rose 0.1% in December following a 0.8% increase a month earlier and missing forecasts for a 0.4% gain. The export price index dropped 0.1% against expectations of 0.3% growth and after a 0.5% rise in November.
Still to come, US wholesale inventories data and official weekly crude oil inventories figures.