Stocks open slightly lower on Wall Street as aid talks stall

New York: Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street Friday as traders find several reasons to put the market's recent rally on hold.

Continuing gridlock in Congress over extending economic relief to millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic was one, and another escalation of tensions between the US and China was another.

A monthly jobs report came in better than economists expected, but still showed that employers pulled back on hiring in July.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3 per cent in the early going, but it's still on track for its biggest weekly gain in the last five.

Global shares were mostly lower Friday in lackluster trading, as trade tensions between the US and China overshadowed optimism about more fiscal stimulus for the ailing US economy.

Investors were also awaiting a US report on jobs later Friday for another gauge of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

US shares have been rising as investors wait for Congress and the White House to reach a hoped-for deal on more aid for the American economy.

France's CAC slipped 0.2 per cent in early trading to 4,873.55, while Germany's DAX edged up nearly 0.2 per cent to 12,611.50.

Britain's FTSE 100 inched down less than 0.1 per cent to 6,025.79 .

US shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.4 per cent at 27,116. S&P 500 futures were also lower, down 0.4 per cent, at 3,331.62.

Asian benchmarks appeared to be still steeped in worries about the growing number of coronavirus cases in some areas, and the painful impact of lockdowns, especially in Southeast Asia.

The hope is for a smooth recovery as lockdowns ease, but the fear is that global 'second wave' risks and rising US-China tensions may throw a spanner at ... recovery in the works, said Hayaki Narita at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 per cent to finish at 22,329.94, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 sank 0.6 per cent to 6,004.80.

South Korea's Kospi edged 0.4 per cent higher to 2,351.67.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.6 per cent to 24,531.62, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.0 per cent to 3,354.04.

Chinese technology shares were shaken by President Donald Trump's decision to issue executive orders banning the popular messaging app WeChat and short video app TikTok from the US Shares in Tencent Holdings, owner of WeChat, plunged 10 per cent but ended the day 5 per cent lower.

Benchmark US crude oil dropped 14 cents to USD 41.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It slipped 24 cents to settle at USD 41.95 per barrel Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 13 cents to USD 44.96 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar inched up to 105.61 Japanese yen from 105.53 yen. The euro fell to USD 1.1832 from USD 1.1877.

(AP)