Stocks Come off Lows Midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped Monday, the first trading day of June, as global trade tensions increased.
The 30-stock index swooned 182.23 points to hit noon EDT Monday at 42,087.84, off its lows of the morning.
The S&P 500 index eased back 5.31 points to 5,906.38
The NASDAQ Composite recaptured 32.67 points to 19,146.44.
Steel stocks rallied on the increased levies. Cleveland-Cliffs surged 24%, while Steel Dynamics climber 10% and Nucor popped nearly 9%.
On Friday, the S&P 500 closed out the month of May with a more than 6% gain, its best monthly performance since November 2023. The tech-heavy NASDAQ surged more than 9% for the month and the Dow rose about 4%.
China pushed back against U.S. accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Instead, the country blamed Washington for failing to uphold the deal — a sign that negotiations between the world’s two largest economies are deteriorating.
Tensions reignited following a brief pause after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Geneva and agreed to a 90-day suspension of most tariffs. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett suggested on Sunday that President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping could have a conversation about trade as soon as this week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, hiking yields to 4.45% from Friday’s 4.40%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $2.10 to $62.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $83.40 to $3,372.30 U.S. an ounce.
