US stocks opened in the red on Monday, extending recent losses as investors found no signs of progress on global trade negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 454 points, or 1.2%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.8%.
Tesla shares declined 5.4%, with Nvidia down 3.7%. AMD, Meta Platforms, and Amazon each lost around 2%.
Investor sentiment was weighed down by the absence of trade deal updates over the weekend, with tensions between the US and China appearing to escalate.
The market weakness followed a third weekly decline in the last four for major US indices.
Last week, the S&P 500 lost 1.5%, while the Dow and Nasdaq both fell more than 2%.
The major US stock indices have fallen roughly 7% since April 2, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new round of import tariffs.
Why the stocks are down today
US stocks declined as markets reacted to President Donald Trump’s threats to consider removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Legal experts maintain that a president cannot easily remove a Fed chair, and Powell has stated he would not resign if asked.
However, recent remarks from the White House have left investors weighing the potential consequences of such a move.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett confirmed Friday that Trump is reviewing whether he has the authority to fire Powell, raising fresh concerns about the Fed’s ability to operate independently amid persistent pressure from the White House over interest rate policy.
Stocks and bonds would likely face a sharp selloff if President Donald Trump attempted to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Evercore ISI vice president Krishna Guha said Monday.
Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box, Guha noted:
If you start to raise questions about Federal Reserve independence, you are raising the bar for the Federal Reserve to cut. If you actually did try to remove the Federal Reserve chairman, I think you would see a severe reaction in markets with yields higher, dollars lower and equities selling off.”
Market sentiment was further dampened by fears of deteriorating US-China relations.
Tensions escalated as Trump’s trade strategy continued to target China and its allies, with Beijing vowing retaliation against any country siding with the US in efforts to isolate its economy.
“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests. If this happens, China will not accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said.
Major earnings this week
A heavy slate of first-quarter earnings is due this week, with markets watching for signs of how tariffs and recession worries are weighing on consumer and business spending.
Tesla will be closely tracked as its shares remain down 40% for the year amid market volatility and controversy surrounding CEO Elon Musk’s ties to Donald Trump.
Alphabet’s results will also be in focus after a sharp selloff in tech stocks last week.
Key reports scheduled:
Tuesday: Tesla (post-market)
Wednesday: Boeing (pre-market); IBM, Chipotle Mexican Grill (post-market)
Thursday: Merck, PepsiCo, Comcast, Procter & Gamble, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines (pre-market), Alphabet, Intel (post-market)
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