Stocks Opened Lower as Chinese Data Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday after data had China’s industrial production slowing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 5.26 points to 14,391.81. The S&P 500 index declined 1.71 points to 1,549.47. The Nasdaq Composite shed 6.28 points to 3,238.09.

China reported over the weekend that annual industrial production for January and February combined rose 9.9 percent – the lowest level since October 2012 – while its consumer price index jumped more than expected last month.

Wall Street commodity revenues crashed last year to their lowest on record, as tighter regulation and limited price swings squeezed the once dominant traders of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS). All three firms reported double-digit percentage declines in revenues for oil, grains and copper trading in 2012.

Carl Icahn-controlled Icahn Enterprises LP said it entered into a confidentiality agreement with Dell Inc, less than a week after the activist investor joined a growing chorus of opposition to co-founder MichaelDell’s plan to take the world’s No. 3 personal computer maker private.

The Japan government’s choice to lead the country’s central bank promised on Monday to move quickly to implement fresh monetary stimulus to lift the struggling economy, a case underlined by a surprisingly sharp drop in a gauge of capital investment.