U.S Stocks Mostly Low as Wall Street Suffers Back-to-Back Losses

At the onset of Monday's trading session, U.S. equities displayed a predominantly downward trajectory within a volatile market environment. This decline was attributed to mounting concerns about China's property sector, which exerted a dampening influence on global markets.

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Market Performance Overview:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) experienced a decline of 72 points, or 0.2%, settling at 35,209.
• The S&P 500 (SPX) registered a decrease of 3 points, equivalent to 0.1%, reaching 4,461.
• The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) remained relatively unchanged, hovering near 13,646.

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Recent Market Trends:The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite encountered consecutive weekly losses at the conclusion of Friday's trading session. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average defied this trend by recording a gain of 0.6%.

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Market Influences:Asia's prevailing somber sentiment resonated in the markets on Monday. Country Garden Holdings Co., China's largest home builder, faced a substantial decline in its shares, leading to the suspension of trading in approximately 11 of its mainland bonds. This development amplified concerns regarding the vitality of the world's second-largest economy and subsequently impacted Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which experienced a decline of 1.7%.

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Raffi Boyadjian, lead investment analyst at XM, remarked that these recent occurrences coincided with weaker-than-anticipated lending data, intensifying apprehensions about an economic recovery slowdown. He added that these events contribute to the weight placed on upcoming July indicators for fixed-asset investment, industrial output, and retail sales, anticipated to provide further insights into China's economic state.

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Performance of the S&P 500:Over the past two weeks, the S&P 500 endured consecutive losses, amounting to a decline of 2.6%. This trend was particularly notable among prominent technology stocks, including Apple and Nvidia, whose momentum experienced a setback.

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Impact of Treasury Yield Fluctuations:Fluctuations in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which has approached levels last observed during the 2008-09 financial crisis, have contributed to a sense of caution among stock investors. This movement is partly attributed to expectations of heightened government issuance.

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Earnings Season and Retail Sales Data:With over 90% of the S&P 500 companies having reported their second-quarter earnings, the earnings season is gradually winding down. However, the upcoming period will feature retail giants such as Home Depot, Target, and Walmart as they present their financial results. Simultaneously, July's retail sales data is scheduled for release on Tuesday morning.

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Outlook on Market Recovery:Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, suggested that robust retail sales figures could reinforce the notion that the U.S. economy is poised for resilience and could avert a recession amidst the Federal Reserve's assertive tightening measures. However, she emphasized that such data might not necessarily impact inflation expectations. Ozkardeskaya also noted that robust sales data and positive earnings reports could potentially halt the recent declines in U.S. equities, which affected both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

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