Stocks Open Lower on U.S.-China Trade Rift Concerns

On the upside 

Drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) announced 5500 job cuts or about 13% of its global workforce, but excludes new hirings in emerging markets and Japan.

Shares of Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) rose on the possibility of combining with T-Mobile USA.

Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP) reported positive late stage results for its drug treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

On the downside

Shares of Alexza Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXA) fell after the company announced disappointing results for its migraine drug candidate.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH) announced an unpriced stock offering of 9 million shares and about $125 million in convertible senior notes.

An analyst downgraded Coeur D'Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE), a gold and silver mining company whose shares recently hit all-time highs.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 591.