US stocks stretch losing streak as China trade slump underscores recession fears

• US stocks fell Wednesday and were on track to extend a run of losses.
• A slump in Chinese trade in November highlighted global recession worries.

US stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday, on track to extend a string of losses as dismal Chinese trade data highlight ongoing worries over the global economy sliding into a recession.

The S&P 500 was on course for a fifth consecutive losing session as a chorus of Wall Street banks and CEOs including JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon in recent days have been warning investors to brace for steep losses in stocks next year and for contraction in economic activity in the US and other economies.

Chinese trade figures released Wednesday underscored recession fears even as the world's second-largest economy continued to roll back its zero-COVID policy measures related to quarantines and testing. Official data released by the government showed exports in November contracted by 8.7% in November from a year earlier, the worst decline since February 2020 when the COVID outbreak was starting to spread worldwide.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 3,934.80, down 0.16%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,594.41, down 0.01% (1.93 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 10,975.33, down 0.36%

The Nasdaq Composite was facing a fourth straight loss and the Dow industrials were looking at third consecutive decline .

"The tone has been decidedly more downbeat this week as it should be in light of recent economic data that points to the Fed needing to keep with a more restrictive policy track despite signs of recession," said FX exchange operator LMAX in a daily update.

Here's what else is happening today:

• Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon sees just a 35% chance the Fed avoids a recession.
• DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeff Gundlach calls the Federal Reserve's plan to raise interest rates further questionable because policy makers will likely end up reversing those hikes sooner rather than later.
• Russia reportedly has three oil moves in mind to hit back at the G7 price cap.
• An ongoing drop in response rates for popular economic surveys could call into question the reliability of forecasts made by the Federal Reserve, says Fundstrat's Tom Lee.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.5% to $74.65 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.8% to $80.02.
• Gold tacked on 0.5% to $1,791.50 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield fell five basis points to 3.45%.
• Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $16,981.11.