Stock Market Today - Concerns Overseas as Chinese Imports, Exports Decline in March

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Global nervousness is increasing after China posted a sharp decline in March import shipments, down 12.7%, (its third sequential drop) as its exports also slumped by 15%. China's first-quarter GDP numbers are due to be released on Wednesday, and all eyes will be focused on that data as investors view a healthy China as a necessary precursor for global economic wellness. The flip side to the negative data is that investors believe China's central bank will continue its accommodative financial policies as they seek to stimulate its economy. Meanwhile, in further overseas worries, reports of increasing tensions between Greece and the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have come through over the weekend, as Greece has not provided sufficient details on its planned reforms. Greece will need to provide a solid plan before the April 24 meeting which decides whether 7.2 billion euros in aid will be handed out. Jana Partners, the well-reputed activist investor fund, is taking on Qualcomm (QCOM), calling for it to unlock value and spin off its chip business from its licensing business and do some additional restructuring and share buybacks. Today's domestic economic calendar is quiet. And its official, Hillary Clinton is running for president of the U.S. Happy trading! Chinese exports badly missed expectations in March, when they fell by 15%. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected exports to rise by 12% in March from a year earlier, and had predicted imports would fall by 11.7%. Imports fell by 12.7%, a full percentage point more than expected. Meanwhile, Chinese regulators liberalized the stock market further, by allowing investors to open multiple accounts in mainland A-listed shares. "We will cancel the 'one person, one account' restriction for normal investors, and permit investors -- according to their need -- to open multiple A-share accounts on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses," the regulator said in a statement, adding that it will still check to make sure only persons needing multiple accounts open them. General Motors (GM) mulls spending as much as $1.0 billion to renovate its Technical Center facility, which is more than 50 years old, according to a report by Bloomberg. United Parcel Service (UPS) plans to invest 1.0 billion euros ($1.06 billion) in Europe to expand its service, a German magazine reported. "We will strongly expand our network in Germany and the rest of Europe," the magazine quoted UPS Germany chief Frank Sportolari as saying in the article, adding the number of parcel shops and sorting centers would rise with the investment. The New York attorney general is scrutinizing retailers for staffing practices that may potentially violate New York state law, the Wall Street Journal reports. The attorney general sent letters to 13 retailers to inquire about practices such as on-call scheduling, which make retailers more nimble as they are able to staff their stores at busy times and use fewer workers when it's less busy. However, this potentially breaches New York employment law, which says workers who report for a shift must be paid for four hours even if they end up not working the shift.

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