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* U.S.-China trade talks to start on Oct. 10
* All major S&P 500 sectors in the red
* E*Trade rises as UBS upgrades to "buy"
* GM falls as UAW rejects latest offer
* Indexes down: Dow 0.37%, S&P 500 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.30%
(Updates to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes fell on Monday
as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of the trade
talks later in the week, following a roller-coaster start to the
month on fears that the U.S. economy could be sliding into a
recession.
Tariff concessions from the United States and China last
month had fueled hopes of a resolution to the prolonged dispute,
but a report that Beijing was increasingly reluctant to agree to
a broad trade deal pursued by President Donald Trump weighed on
sentiment.
The trade-sensitive technology sector .SPLRCT dropped
0.2%, dragged down by heavyweights Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and
Apple Inc AAPL.O . Technology has been the best performer among
the major S&P 500 sectors so far this year.
"Right now, investors are more focused on an actual outcome
from these talks, but a majority have become somewhat skeptical
that there will be something concrete this week," said Rick
Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, New Vernon, New
Jersey.
The high-level negotiations are set to begin on Thursday.
Wall Street logged a choppy start to October as concerns
fueled by a contraction in U.S. factory activity and
weaker-than-expected services sector data were countered by
rising bets of a third interest rate cut this year by the
Federal Reserve.
Traders see a 74% chance of a rate cut at the central bank's
policy meeting later this month, up from about 40% a week ago,
according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Investors will now turn to the third-quarter earnings
season, which kicks off next week with U.S. banks reporting, for
more clarity on the impact of the trade war on Corporate
America.
Analysts expect the lowest quarterly profit performance
since 2016, with S&P 500 earnings seen falling nearly 3% from a
year earlier, based on IBES data from Refinitiv.
At 9:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 98.06 points, or 0.37%, at 26,475.66, while the S&P 500
.SPX was down 11.04 points, or 0.37%, at 2,940.97. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 23.59 points, or 0.30%, at 7,958.88.
Among stocks, E*Trade Financial Corp ETFC.O rose 2.6%
after UBS raised its rating on the online broker's shares to
"buy".
Nvidia Corp NVDA.O gained 3.1% after RBC Capital Markets
raised its price target on the chipmaker on improving gaming and
data center demand. The stock was the biggest gainer on the S&P
General Motors Co GM.N dropped 1%, after the UAW rejected
the carmaker's latest offer of a four-year labor contract.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.53-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded nine new highs and 36 new lows.