WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Reflecting traders' recent laser-like focus on any trade-related new, stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Tuesday after China's Ministry of Commerce said the U.S.-China trade dispute can only be resolved through further trade talks.
Concerns about the economic impact of the trade dispute have recently weighed on the markets, with the recent collapse of U.S.-China trade talks helping to drag the major averages down to multi-month lows.
While no new talks are scheduled, a spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry said, 'The Chinese side always believes that the differences and frictions between the two sides in the economic and trade field will ultimately need to be resolved through dialogue and consultation.'
However, the spokesperson said future talks need to be based on 'mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit' and called on the U.S. to 'abandon its wrong practices and work in tandem with the Chinese side.'
The release of the statement comes as both sides have been seeking to blame the other for the breakdown in trade talks last month.
In a statement, the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Treasury Department accused China of pursuing a 'blame game' while at the same time claiming China had 'back-pedaled on important elements of what the parties had agreed to.'
'One such position was the need for enforceability, a position necessitated by China's history of making commitments that it fails to keep,' the statement said. 'But our insistence on detailed and enforceable commitments from the Chinese in no way constitutes a threat to Chinese sovereignty.'
The statement added, 'Rather, the issues discussed are common to trade agreements and are necessary to address the systemic issues that have contributed to persistent and unsustainable trade deficits.'
Not long after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of April. Factory orders are expected to drop by 0.9 percent in April after jumping by 1.9 percent in March.
Technology stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Monday, leading to a steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The Dow, on the other hand, spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The Nasdaq plunged 120.13 points or 1.6 percent to 7,333.02, ending the session at its lowest closing level in nearly four months. The S&P 500 also fell 7.61 points or 0.3 percent to 2,744.45, while the Dow inched up 4.74 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 24,819.78.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has surged up by 1.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both rising by 0.4 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.39 to $52.86 barrel after slipping $0.25 to $53.25 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after jumping $16.80 to $1,327.90 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are dipping $1.10 to $1,326.80 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 108.22 yen compared to the 108.07 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1236 compared to yesterday's $1.1241.
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