The major averages have been weaker in morning trading, as elevated risk-aversion is putting continued downward pressure on Treasury yields and in turn on stocks. While President Trump recently said he would be "fine" if trade talks scheduled for September do not happen, denting hopes for a thawing in the trade war with China, the rising risk that Italy's government will collapse and increasing prospects of a "no-deal" Brexit outcome for the U.K. are hurting sentiment in Europe. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped as ongoing political protests escalated and in South America a surprising election result in sending the peso lower and with it many Argentina-linked stocks that trade in New York.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., a rally in Treasuries and drop in yields is again weighing on equities, especially as several Wall Street economists up their odds for a recession.
TOP NEWS: Markets in Argentina are reeling on Monday after President Mauricio Macri, who is known for being pro-business, lost a primary election on Sunday. Argentina's peso had weakened about 25% against the dollar in early trading amid investor concerns about the potential return to power of Argentina's Peronist movement under Alberto Fernandez and his running mate, former president Cristina Kirchner. Fernandez has pledged to undo many of Macri's market-friendly policies and the surprising primary results has been followed by sharp slides for many stocks linked to Argentina that trade in New York, including MercadoLibre (MELI), Banco Macro (BMA), Despegar.com (DESP), Grupo Financiero Galicia (GGAL), Loma Negra (LOMA), Pampa Energia (PAM), Telecom Argentina (TEO), YPF (YPF) and Arcos Dorados (ARCO).
Shares of Cloudera (CLDR) initially jumped after the company announced that it has reached a voting and standstill agreement with Carl C. Icahn, but the stock is now down about 4% near noon. The company, which said it believes the Icahn Group beneficially owns approximately 18.36% of the company's outstanding common stock, has agreed to appoint Nicholas Graziano and Jesse Lynn, both of whom are employees of Icahn Enterprises (IEP), to the company's board of directors, effective immediately.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was PlayAGS (AGS), which rose 11% after it announced a $50M share repurchase program. Also higher was Amgen (AMGN), which gained 6% after a United States District Court judge in New Jersey ruled on Friday in the company's favor in a patent fight with Novartis' (NVS) Sandoz unit over the drug Enbrel.
Among the notable losers was ProPetro (PUMP), which slid another 7% after Wells Fargo analyst Christopher Voie cut his price target on the shares to $22 from $27. The stock has been falling since the disclosure of an audit committee's review of its disclosures of agreements with AF Global, its related party transaction disclosures, and its expense reimbursement practices. Also lower was Progenics (PGNX), which fell 9% after stockholder Velan Capital announced its "disappointment" with the company's Q2 results, saying that the continued lack of transparency at Progenics is "extremely concerning."
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 212.99, or 0.81%, to 26,074.45, the Nasdaq was down 34.25, or 0.43%, to 7,924.89, and the S&P 500 was down 17.07, or 0.58%, to 2,901.58.
