New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended in the red Monday after a hesitant session, investors being cautious in the approach of the opening of a new round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, dropped 0.36% to 26,478.02 points.

The Nasdaq, with strong technological coloration, yielded 0.33%, at 7,956.29 points, and the expanded S & P 500 index lost 0.45%, to 2,938.79 points.

"The market has been in a waiting position before the Sino-US talks, the big event of the week from an economic point of view," observes Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment.

As in previous bargaining sessions, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead discussions in Washington on Thursday with a Chinese delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Liu He.

"Investors are hoping for a quick resolution but they know that, in all likelihood, both parties will only prolong the discussions because they are still very far away on several fundamental issues," says Sarhan.

According to press reports, the Chinese authorities have considerably narrowed the scope of the issues they are ready to address this week. The White House says that all subjects will be on the table, including that of massive subsidies from Chinese state enterprises that Beijing would no longer wish to discuss.

For now, the White House host is still brandishing the threat of new tariffs on imports from China. But the outcome of the negotiations remains uncertain.

"If we do not have more clarity on the progress of the negotiations, the market will probably be back in the waiting position by saying that discussions are not stalled," says Sarhan. "If we reach a partial agreement, it would be very positive for the indices," he adds.

In the bond market, the 10-year rate on US debt rose to 20:15 GMT to 1.560% against 1.529% at the close on Friday.

Investors are also beginning to prepare for the third quarter earnings season.

According to a compilation of estimates by S & P Capital IQ, analysts expect the average S & P 500 earnings per annum to fall by 4.2% year-on-year. But it should start from before the fourth quarter with an anticipated increase of 2.8%.

© 2019 AFP