US markets opened in the red as markets digest fresh uncertainties over trade policies due to new tariffs and increasing conflict in Europe.
The US market is coming off its best month since November 2023, as May had recorded a 6% gain for the S&P 500.
The benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.57% to 5,878.10. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was down 0.37% to 19,043.36, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.76% to 41,947.70%.
Steel stocks like Nucor and Steel Dynamics were the top gainers on the S&P 500.
Worsening Geopolitics
US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has stirred concerns among market participants.
The move, aimed at bolstering domestic metal production, has been met with criticism from international trade partners, including the European Union, which has signaled potential retaliatory measures.
Adding to the complexity, China has accused the U.S. of undermining a recently established trade agreement, citing export restrictions and visa revocations as violations.
This development has raised concerns about the stability of U.S.-China trade relations, further contributing to market volatility.
Geopolitical tensions have also been exacerbated by developments in Eastern Europe.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in the weekend with Ukraine announcing it carried out the biggest long-range attack in the war as it used drones to launch strikes on at least 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases.
This, coupled with OPEC+’s decision to implement a smaller-than-expected oil output increase, has led to a surge in oil prices.
OPEC+ announced to raise output by 411,000 barrels per day in July which is the same quantity it announced two months back.
US crude oil prices rose over 4% to $63.29 per barrel.
Top Stocks
President Donald Trump increased tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%.
Shares of domestic steel stocks were up on Monday.
Cleveland-Cliffs rallied 22%, while Nucor surged 11% and Steel Dynamics jumped 13% on Monday morning.
Dell Technologies and CDW were the top losers in the S&P 500 with a more than 3% decline.
In Nasdaq, ZScaler, Costco Wholesale, and Advanced Micro Devices were among the top gainers with stocks jumping between 1.5% to 2.6%.
Alphabet and Adobe were among the losers with more than a 1% decline.
Shares of BioNTech added up 15% after it signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Bristol Myers Squibb to co-develop an experimental cancer drug.
Blueprint Medicines stock rallied up 26% after Sanofi announced it would buy the company for $9.5 billion.
Investors are also closely monitoring upcoming economic data releases, including the May jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions.
Other announcements include the S&P final US manufacturing PMI, auto sales numbers, S&P final US services PMI, and consumer credit.
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