By Anna Isaac 

U.S. stocks edged lower Tuesday as China's exports grew at the slowest pace in three years, adding to concerns about a wider global slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 28901 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 dropped 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%.

Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite Index closed for the day down 0.3%, while the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.1%.

Exports from China climbed by 0.5% last year, a sharp comedown from 2018's expansion of nearly 10%, according to data released Tuesday. Imports dropped 2.8% last year.

While the slowdown comes amid a two-year trade war between the world's largest economies, China's foreign trade revived in December as tensions ebbed following signals that Washington was nearing a trade deal with Beijing. Investors in recent days have been cautiously optimistic about that accord as they await more information on the specific terms of the agreement.

China has committed to buying almost $80 billion of additional manufactured goods from the U.S. over the next two years, Reuters reported Tuesday. It would also purchase more than $50 billion more in energy supplies, and boost spending on U.S. services by roughly $35 billion, the news agency said, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

"The overall mood music is positive, but the key thing is what the actual wording of the agreement is," said Edward Park, deputy chief investment officer in London for Brooks Macdonald Asset Management. "Investors need to see real progress on U.S.-China."

Separately, China's currency strengthened to its strongest level since July in offshore trading after the U.S. on Monday dropped it from a list of currency manipulators, days before the likely signing of a phase-one trade deal. The yuan pared back its gains later in the day.

Shares of Delta Air Lines rose 2.9% after the airline said lower fuel prices and strong demand from holiday makers had helped boost fourth-quarter profit, which exceeded analysts' expectations.

Shares in Wells Fargo dropped over 4% after its profit sank due to legal costs incurred from problems in its sales practices. Meanwhile, Boston Scientific fell nearly 6% after the medical-devices maker warned that fourth-quarter sales would fall shy of investors' expectations.

Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2020 09:54 ET (14:54 GMT)

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