U.S. Stocks Slip in Early Trading as, Italy Debt Downgrade and China’s Data Weigh on Sentiment

U.S. stocks edged lower in early trading as investors weigh multi-year high valuations. Meanwhile, Italy’s debt downgrade and weak economic data from China is also weighing market sentiment.

At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index slid 0.13%; the NASDAQ Composite Index fell 0.23% while the S&P 500 Index fell 0.20%.

Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS)  slumped more than 7% in early trading after the retailer’s fourth-quarter results fell short of Street’s estimates. The Company reported earnings of $1.03 a share which was 3 cents short of analysts’ expectation. DKS said that positive trends in footwear and apparel divisions were offset by lower-than-expected sales in outerwear and cold weather accessories.

Shares of Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) edged higher on Monday after Piper Jaffray  upgraded the consumer electronics chain’s stock to “overweight” from “neutral,” citing new management is in the initial stages of a multi-year turnaround process.

In some other markets, crude oil futures fell 0.71% to $91.30 a barrel while U.S. gold futures edged up 0.15% to $1,579.20 an ounce

The U.S. dollar traded mainly higher against major traded currencies on Monday.

No major U.S economic data is due to release on Monday.

Elsewhere in Europe, nearly all leading benchmark indexes traded in red territory as investors’ sentiment was weighed down after Fitch ratings on Friday downgraded Italy’s credit rating by a notch on Friday to BBB+ from A- with a negative outlook, citing political uncertainty in Europe’s third largest economy—overshadowing better than expected German exports data for January, released earlier today.

The Pan European Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.27% , at last check.

In Asia, markets ended mixed on Monday as string of unexpectedly weak economic data released over the weekend in China, kept the market sentiment slightly subdued. While China’s benchmark index the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.35%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended flat. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.53%.

Earlier during the weekend, a data release showed that China’s industrial production declined more-than-expected in February while retail sales were lower-than-expected in the same period.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.