U.S. stocks fluctuated as investors weighed global tensions against a backdrop of strong economic growth. The dollar dropped and Treasuries edged lower.

The S&P 500 held near the key 200-day moving average following its biggest weekly retreat since March. Consumer staples and rates-sensitive shares helped buoy the benchmark. The tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes edged lower after President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened more tariffs on Chinese goods. Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies Inc. surged on the announcement of a merger, pushing industrials higher. Bank of America Corp. dropped after posting quarterly results.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished trading barely in the read, closing down 4.82 points at 15,409.47.

The dollar touched a two-week low against peers, while the 10-year Treasury yield traded around 3.15 per cent after U.S. retail sales in September fell short of analysts’ estimates. West Texas crude was little changed at US$71 a barrel amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over the disappearance of a prominent journalist. Gold headed toward its fourth advance in five days.

“We’ll see if the market stabilizes here or if it breaks down to new lows...we also have to see if we can bring the VIX back down or if we break again. That’s what a lot of this week will be about,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Weeden Capital Management. “The news will be affecting that, whether it’s slowdown news or news that drive yields higher.”

While global tensions were on full display this weekend, with the IMF warning of more market volatility and U.S.-China trade war rhetoric increasing, investors are also trying to gauge the direction of the American economy and earnings from last quarter that are starting to roll in. Anything hinting of a slowdown or stronger growth that could impact the pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes will push markets around.

Elsewhere, European equities rose while Asia stocks fell. In Frankfurt, stock trading resumed after the opening was delayed by a technical glitch. Italian bonds pared earlier gains as the nation prepared to meet Monday’s midnight deadline for euro-area governments to turn in fiscal budgets.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

APEC finance ministers meet in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea China’s new yuan loans may have risen to 1.36 trillion yuan (US$196 billion) in September from August’s 1.28 trillion yuan as officials sought to buoy economic growth. On Tuesday, consensus is for CPI to pick up to 2.5 per cent growth and PPI to slow to 3.6 per cent. Third-quarter GDP for China comes Friday, with headline growth forecast to slow to 6.6 per cent year on year from 6.7 per cent, in addition to last month’s retail sales and factory output. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting are due on Wednesday, with investors focused on projections for further interest rate rises. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Netflix are among companies reporting this week. Euro-area governments, including Italy, must turn in fiscal budget proposals to the European Commission by midnight Monday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index rose less than 0.1 per cent as of 2 p.m. New York time. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 per cent. The MSCI All-Country World Index dipped 0.2 per cent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.7 per cent.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 per cent. The euro climbed 0.1 per cent to US$1.1576. The Japanese yen gained 0.3 per cent to 111.82 per dollar, the strongest in four weeks. The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index advanced 0.2 per cent.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased less than one basis point to 3.15 per cent. Germany’s 10-year yield fell less than one basis point to 0.50 per cent, the lowest in more than a week. Britain’s 10-year yield dipped three basis points to 1.606 per cent.

Commodities

The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 0.7 per cent. West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at US$71.39 a barrel. Gold gained 0.7 per cent to US$1,230.20 an ounce, the highest since Aug. 1.