US equity markets resumed trading after the Labor Day long weekend with modest losses as investors continued to focus on developments on the global trade front - Dow eased 12-points or -0.05% recovering from an earlier loss that saw the index down as much as -159-points (~0.60%). The broader S&P500 slipped -0.17%, with telecom (down -%) and real estate (-%) the key laggards among the primary sectors. The technology-centric NASDAQ -0.23%, with Facebook Inc down -2.6% following a broker downgrade that cited a "toxic brew" of slowing sales growth and regulation risk. Amazon.com briefly joined Apple Inc (+0.32%) as a company with a market capitalisation of US$1 trillion after hitting a peak of US$2,050.50 per share (up +1.9%) before paring earlier gains to settle +1.3% higher (at US$2,039.51 versus the US$2,050.27 price required to reach the US$1 trillion mark based on an outstanding count of 487,741,189 shares in the company's most recent quarterly report in July). On the the trade front, the US scheduled to restart tense negotiations with Canada that could lead to way to revising the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since 1950, September has been the worst month for the Dow and the broader S&P 500, according data from Stock Trader's Almanac. The Dow averages a decline of -0.7%, while the S&P 500 averages a -0.5% decline in September. The Nasdaq, which was introduced in 1971, also falls -0.5% on average for the month. Losses in September for the Dow and Nasdaq widen in mid-term election years, while the S&P 500's average decline narrows slightly in such years, according to the data.
