The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity decreased to 49.1, compared with a reading of 51.1 estimated by analysts polled by Reuters. "A contraction in the manufacturing sector, which we haven't seen for a very long time, is important because it has a tendency to be a leading indicator for the rest of the
economy including the services sector," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin. U.S. stocks opened lower as the lack of progress on negotiations between
Washington and
Beijing amid a new round of
tariffs kicking in over the weekend weighed on sentiment.