Wall Street on the back foot as China data and Afghanistan weigh on sentiment

10.15am: Proactive North America headlines: Delta 9 Cannabis 2Q revenue climbs 29% to C$16.8M as it continues to advance its retail and online sales strategy ESE Entertainment enters into binding agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Auto Simulation Limited T/A Digital Motorsports PsyBio Therapeutics files new provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office adding additional methylated tryptamines Belmont Resources announces drill program for recently acquired Lone Star project in Washington State PowerTap Hydrogen Capital provides update on its technology for producing low carbon intensity blue hydrogen CO2 GRO heading to Japan for commercial feasibility for greenhouse grower HempFusion Wellness reports 268% increase in year-over-year direct-to-consumer e-commerce revenue Mindset Pharma advances psychedelic drug candidates' development as its patent applications are published Empower Clinics launches'The Medi-Collective' brand in anticipation of the opening and rollout of its next clinics in September KetamineOne Capital says its wholly-owned contract research organization, KGK Science Inc recently secured a significant amount of new business Talon Metals breaks even on a per-share basis in 2Q as it continues to advance its Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota Zoglo’s Incredible Food says it will be listing 12 plant-based food products from its new Incredible product line in over 400 Walmart Canada locations Plurilock Security receives C$672,000 multi-year purchase order from a partner on behalf of a leading overseas financial institution Metalla Royalty & Streaming reports on acquisitive second quarter as growth plan continues Electric Royalties completes acquisition of graphite royalty portfolio from Vox Valeo Pharma completes implementation of its new corporate structure and launches full commercial activities in support of two new asthma medications Milestone Scientific reports fourteen-fold increase in revenue in 2Q as dental business recovers 10am: US stocks retreat at open As had been expected, Wall Street benchmarks opened lower, with investors spooked by weak Chinese economic data and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban have seized back power. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged over 217 at 35,297, the S&P 500 lost over 22 at 4,446. The tech-laden Nasdaq exchange shed over 122 points at 14,700. Chinese data released on Monday showed that both factory output and retail sales slowed last month, compared with June, and were below analysts’ expectations. Electric vehicle titan Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped over 4% Monday at around US$687 on reports that the company is facing a formal investigation in the US of its hands-free driver system Autopilot after a series of crashes involving parked emergency vehicles. 7.30am: US stocks set for weak start US stocks look set to edge lower on Monday having closed at record highs last week, after data showed a slowdown in China’s economy. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%, while futures for the S&P 500 were 0.3% lower, and the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 was seen down 0.2%. Investors remain cautious over the effect of the Delta variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on business activity, the possible removal of some stimulus by the Federal Reserve sooner rather than later, and geopolitical factors given the situation in Afghanistan. The Delta variant has taken a toll on the economic recovery in China, where data on Monday showed growth in industrial, consumer and investment activity slowed in July. The world’s second-largest economy has likely continued to lose steam in August. following the shutdown of a major port and the introduction of travel restrictions to contain the virus. The weak Chinese data weighed on commodity prices, with Brent crude down 0.8% and copper prices off 1.7%. Five things to watch: China's factory output was +6.4% y/y vs June's +8.3% and retail sales growth slowed sharply and missed expectations in July, +8.5% y/y vs June's +12.1%, as new COVID-19 outbreaks and floods disrupted business operations. BHP Group shares fell in London trading after the world’s biggest mining company said it is considering the sale of its petroleum business. UK defense firm Ultra Electronics has agreed to a £2.6 billion ($3.6 billion) takeover by Cobham, owned by US private-equity firm Advent International. HSBC Holdings has agreed to acquire French insurer Axa's Singapore assets for $575 million, part of its strategy of scaling up its wealth-management business in Asia to boost fee income. Saudi Aramco is in advanced talks to acquire a roughly 20% stake in Reliance Industries Ltd's oil refining and chemicals business for about $20 billion to $25 billion in Aramco's shares, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.