Technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower on Monday even as falling bond yields and cheaper oil lifted most other sectors. The Dow edged higher while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped, with Alibaba's discounted share sale and Samsung's shareholder plan weighing on the sector. Traders also awaited details of new U.S. sanctions on Iran and higher U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Global stocks fell on Monday as weakness in technology stocks offset support from a dip in U.S. Treasury yields and falling oil prices, according to MSCI's global equities gauge. Investors were waiting for details of threatened U.S. sanctions on Iran, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent due to hold a press conference later on Monday to outline the measures.
Dow rises as tech drags on S&P 500 and Nasdaq
At 11:14 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89.04 points, or 0.17%, to 53,361.60, while the S&P 500 fell 28.66 points, or 0.37%, to 7,645.71 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 186.77 points, or 0.71%, to 25,993.69. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 5.02 points, or 0.44%, to 1,144.79. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.01%, and South Korea's KOSPI index finished down more than 3%.
According to Reuters: "Today it's a mixed bag." Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera in El Segundo, California, pointed to Alibaba's launch of a $10.2 billion share sale at a steep discount to fund its AI ambitions. South Korean shares also fell after Samsung Electronics announced a $79 billion shareholder-return plan, a record for the company but smaller than investors had expected. Technology investors were also on edge ahead of Nvidia's quarterly report on Wednesday, with worries about how hard it will be for the chipmaker to meet expectations.
Yields ease, oil falls, gold jumps
In government bonds, the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.99 basis points to 4.698%, from 4.738% late on Friday, while the 30-year bond yield fell 4.94 basis points to 5.2266%. U.S. crude fell 2.37% to $85.00 a barrel and Brent fell 1.83% to $92.65 per barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, pushed to its highest level in more than three months as technical buyers piled into a rally driven by the U.S. Treasury's recent buyback announcement and a weaker dollar ahead of this week's inflation data. Spot gold rose 1.53% to $4,673.16 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose 1.01% to $4,670.90 an ounce.
Canada tariffs escalate, Fed watches Jackson Hole
President Donald Trump said tariffs on all cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel from Canada will rise to 50% starting January 1, 2027, after trade talks between the two countries collapsed over the weekend. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would respond with levies of its own, and the Canadian dollar weakened 0.48% to C$1.383 per U.S. dollar.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is due to give his first speech at the Jackson Hole conference this week, an appearance traders are watching for guidance on the recent jump in bond yields. Traders are pricing in a roughly 60% probability that the Fed holds rates steady at its September meeting, but expect at least one rate hike by December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Source: Reuters
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