U.S. stocks closed lower Monday as weaker-than-expected China trade data sparked fresh fears of a global economic slowdown. Corporate results were also in the spotlight as fourth-quarter earnings season got under way.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.82% slid 86.11 points, or 0.4%, to end at 23,909.84, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.15% fell 13.65 points, or 0.5%, to 2,582.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index US:NQH9 dropped 65.56 points, or 0.9%, to close at 6,905.92.

Read: The most important skill traders need isn’t when to buy—it’s when (and what) to sell

What drove the market?

Appetite for assets perceived as risky, such as stocks, took a hit after data showed China’s trade growth slowing, which underscored worries of the global economic engine losing steam. And China’s trade surplus with the U.S. soared to a record of $323.32 billion in 2018 even as the two countries continue to try to resolve their trade conflict.

See:China growth worries flare up again after trade data

A new earnings cycle kicked off with Citigroup Inc. reporting its quarterly results, producing better-than-expected profit but falling below estimates on revenues. JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, +0.01% , Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, +0.13% , BlackRock Inc. BLK, +1.49% , Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, +0.45% and Netflix Inc. NFLX, -0.54% are a few of the other big companies due to report this week.

Read: Citigroup is up first as big banks kick off fourth-quarter earnings season

Also see:Here’s why Germany may already be in a ‘technical’ recession

Investors were jittery ahead of the start of the fourth-quarter earnings reporting season after a high- profile warning from Apple Inc. AAPL, -2.66% .

Brexit concerns will rise to the forefront this week as U.K. lawmakers get ready to vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s separation deal with the European Union Tuesday. U.K. opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said Sunday the Labor Party would push for a general election if Parliament rejects May’s deal, and that he might force a vote of no-confidence “soon.”

Read:Brexit vote: 3 reasons why investors outside of the U.K. should care

What were strategists saying?

“We are hitting strong resistance near the 2,600-2,630 level” for the S&P 500, Zhiwei Ren, a portfolio manager at Penn Mutual Asset Management told MarketWatch.

“I was surprised by the velocity of the rally since December, and I’m skeptical that this rally” has much more momentum left, given the uncertainty that is hanging over the market with respect to slowing growth abroad and U.S-China trade tensions.

“Analysts have been backpedaling earnings expectations faster than usual in the run-up to the Q4 releases. Apple’s high-profile warning may have unduly lowered the bar for other firms,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a note to clients.

“Expect roughly 10% earnings growth, lower than last quarter but still very strong, albeit Q4 looks likely to be a bit patchier than the across-the-board wins we had in Q3. The effect of tax cuts will start to seen annualizing out,” he said.

Stocks to watch

Shares of PG&E Corp. PCG, -0.51% tumbled 52% after the gas and electric company said it plans to file for bankruptcy on or about Jan. 29.



Gannett Co. GCI, 0.00 rallied 21% after private-equity firm MNG announced an unsolicited bid to buy the owner of USA Today, valuing the company at $1.4 billion.

Shares of Newmont Mining Corp. NEM, -2.29% fell 8.9% after it announced plans to buy Canadian miner Goldcorp Inc. CA:G in a deal valued at $10 billion.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU, -2.84% gained 5.7% after the athletic-wear retailer raised its revenue and earnings guidance for the fourth quarter.

Share of Citigroup C, -1.50% climbed 4% after the bank reported a fourth-quarter earnings beat, though it fell short of revenue expectations.

How were other markets trading?

Asia markets finished weaker, led by a 1.4% drop in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.47% . European stocks SXXP, -0.66% also traded lower across the board.

A risk-off atmosphere drove down oil prices US:CLG9 and gold US:GCG9 settled mostly unchanged, while the ICE Dollar Index DXY, -0.00% traded flat.

—Barbara Kollmeyer contributed to this article