Wall Street opens lower as Trump’s tariff deadline nears
Wall Street opens lower as Trump’s tariff deadline nears
By ALEX VEIGA Associated Press Business Writer
U.S. stocks are lower in early trading Monday as the Trump administration steps up pressure on trading partners to make deals before a Wednesday deadline.
The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower as trading resumed in the U.S. following a holiday-shortened week. The benchmark index remains near its all-time high set last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 96 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:54 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.
Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.37% from 4.34% late Thursday.
Tesla tumbled 7.9% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks as the feud between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump reignited over the weekend. Musk, once a top donor and ally of Trump, said he would form a third political party in protest over the Republicans’ spending bill that passed last week.
The Trump administration planned to start sending letters as early as Monday warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1. President Trump and his top trade advisers said over the weekend that the president could extend the tariff deadline if countries were making concessions and negotiating in good faith.
The near-term outlook will likely hinge on several key factors like the extent to which trading partners are included in Trump letters, the rate of tariffs, and the effective date of such tariffs, according to analysts at Nomura.
Most of the sectors in the S&P 500 index were in the red, led by technology and consumer-related stocks.
Oracle fell 2.5% and Chipotle Mexican Grill was down 2.2%.
Molina Healthcare tumbled 6% after the insurer lowered its profit guidance due to rapidly accelerating costs. UnitedHealth Group also recently reported a spike in costs that forced it to cut its forecast, sending its stock tumbling in April.
The downbeat start to the week follows a strong run for stocks, which pushed further into record heights last week after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
Oil prices fluctuated after OPEC+ agreed on Saturday to raise production in August by 548,000 barrels per day.
U.S. benchmark crude was up 0.5%, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 1%.
Stock indexes in Europe were mostly higher. Asian markets closed mostly lower.
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