Stocks on Wall Street ended lower on Monday (Tuesday morning GMT ) , as economic data from China and Japan were weak raises questions about the prospects for growth in Asia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.04 points ( 0.21 percent ) to close at 16418.68 .
The broad-based S & P 500 shed 0.87 points ( 0.05 percent ) to finish at 1877.17 , while the tech -heavy Nasdaq composite index gave up 1.77 points ( 0.04 percent ) to finish at 4334.45 .
Previous Asian stock markets and most of Europe fell after China reported weak inflation data and the trade deficit 23 billion U.S. dollars in February , while analysts had expected a surplus of 11.9 billion U.S. dollars .
" The market retreated due to weak Chinese export data , it is consistent with our view that the Chinese economy is slowing down, " said Jack Ablin , chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank .
Meanwhile Japan said its economy grew more slowly in the fourth quarter , 0.2 percent , compared with 0.3 percent previously reported .
Michael James , managing director of stock trading at Wedbush Securities , said profit-taking or profit-taking is also a factor following the rise since the beginning of February .
" The stock has had a pretty good pace , " said James . " Traders somewhat positioned to take advantage . "
Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded Meritage Homes and housing developer KB Home , citing pressure on profit margins . KB Home fell 4.1 percent , while Meritage slumped 3.5 percent .
Boeing suffered the deepest losses among leading stocks or blue chips , slumped 1.3 percent after 787 Dreamliner Japan Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Honolulu , reportedly due to the possibility of problems in the hydraulic system .
The news follows the disclosure Boeing on Friday ( 7/3 ) of the cracks found in the wings of some Dreamliners are being produced , due to manufacturing problems .
Chiquita Brands International soared 10.7 percent after announcing a merger with FYFFES to make the world's largest banana company . Chiquita shareholders will own approximately 50.7 percent of the new company .
Stocks fuel cell looks hot ahead of corporate earnings reports this week . Fuel Cell Energy , which will release earnings on Tuesday , up 11.3 percent , while Plug Power , which will report on Thursday , jumped 24.7 percent .
Bond prices vary . The yield on U.S. 10 - year slipped to 2.78 percent from 2.79 percent , while the 30 - year bond edged up to 3.73 percent from 3.72 percent . Prices and bond yields move inversely AFP .
World oil prices fell on Monday (Tuesday morning GMT ) , due to weak Chinese trade data stoked concerns over demand in the world 's second largest economy .
The main contract , light sweet crude or West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) for delivery in April , shed 1.46 dollars to close at 101.12 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange .
In London trade , Brent North Sea crude for April delivery fell 92 cents to settle at 108.08 dollars a barrel .
" The sharp decline in Chinese exports in February sparked fears that the global economy could be slowing down , " said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch .
" That said, the February data is distorted by the Chinese New Year celebration , which means that the situation will only become truly apparent after the published figures for March . "
China's official figures released on Saturday ( 8/3 ) shows the second largest economy in the world recorded an unexpected trade deficit sebeasr 22.98 billion U.S. dollars in February , as Chinese exports fell 18.1 percent and imports climbed 10.1 percent .
Numbers compared to what analysts expect will be a surplus of 11.9 billion U.S. dollars .
" Every time there is concern about China's growth and numbers like that , it's obviously going to put pressure on oil prices , especially the price of Brent , " David Lennox , an analyst at Fat Prophets resources in Sydney , said .
China imported 23.05 million metric tons of crude oil in February , down 18 percent from anuari , said the Chinese Customs Office .
Moreover , traders also continue to monitor the development of the Ukrainian crisis since the Eastern European country is a major transit country for supplies from Russia to the EU .
Russia is an important oil-producing countries , generating more than 10 million barrels of crude oil per day in January . Russia is also the second largest natural gas producer in the world . More than 70 percent of exports of crude oil and Russian gas shipped to Europe through Ukraine . AFP and Xinhua reports .
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