Stocks Slide as Trade Tensions Ramp up
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped Monday, the first trading day of June, as global trade tensions increased.
The 30-stock index swooned 390.6 points to begin Monday at 41,879.47.
The S&P 500 index dropped 43.65 points to 5,868.04.
The NASDAQ Composite weakened 81.18 points to 19,029.49.
Steel stocks rallied on the increased levies. Cleveland-Cliffs surged $1.62, or 27.7%, to $7.44, while Steel Dynamics and Nucor each popped 12%.
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 4.43% from Friday’s 4.40%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $2.09 to $62.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $81.70 to $3,370.60 U.S. an ounce.
