By Arjun Panchadar
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would restore tariffs on metal imports from Brazil and Argentina, while weak domestic manufacturing data fanned worries of a slowing economy due to a prolonged trade war with China.
The U.S. economy's manufacturing sector contracted for a fourth straight month in November, as new order volumes slid back to around their lowest level since 2012. Construction spending also unexpectedly fell in October.
The figures were in sharp contrast to recent economic indicators that had reassured investors of a resilient domestic economy. Global markets had also cheered an unexpected rebound in Chinese manufacturing earlier in the day. [MKTS/GLOB]
However, Trump's tweet about restoring tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports dampened sentiment. The news sent shares of U.S. steel makers including U.S. Steel Corp (N:X) and AK Steel Holding Corp (N:AKS) up 3.9% and 6.9%, respectively.
"It is all about the macro news today and that is basically overshadowing the good news on Black Friday and Cyber Monday," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
"The fact that the manufacturing sector is still in recession obviously also rekindles trade worries."
Energy shares (SPNY) rose 0.54% tracking oil prices. [O/R]
The gains were an exception, with the other 10 major S&P 500 sectors trading lower. The technology sector (SPLRCT) slipped 1.56% and was the biggest drag.
Retail stocks were in focus, with Cyber Monday sales expected to hit a record following $11.6 billion in online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Still, the S&P 500 retail sector <.SPXRT> was down 1.25%.
Wall Street had been on a record-hitting spree last month mainly on the back of hopes of a trade truce.
"We are coming off the market high ... any negative news is going to cause investors to take profits," Cardillo said.
At 11:41 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 224.00 points, or 0.80%, at 27,827.41, the S&P 500 (SPX) was down 25.21 points, or 0.80%, at 3,115.77 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) was down 106.64 points, or 1.23%, at 8,558.83.
Among other stocks, Roku Inc (O:ROKU) dropped 16% after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) downgraded its shares.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 16 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 54 new highs and 22 new lows.