US Stocks Open Negative, Down From Record Highs
The US stock market opened in negative territory on Monday, down from record highs on Friday, while European indices also turned south.
The Dow Jones shed 100 points, or 0.3%, to 35,108, while the S&P 500 fell 9, or 0.2%, to 4,427 points at 9.45 a.m. EDT. Both indices hit all-time highs on Friday with 35,246 and 4,440 points, respectively.
The Nasdaq lost 13 points, or 0.1%, to 14,821 after the opening bell.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 1.3% to 1.272, and the dollar index inched down 0.04% to $92.76.
The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, jumped 6% to 17.12.
Precious metals continued to decline, with gold losing 1.3% to $1,740 per ounce and silver plummeting 2.15% to $23.81.
Oil prices also showed losses around 2.8% as Brent crude fell to $68.72 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate stood at $66.36 a barrel, with rising cases of coronavirus variants around the world threatening global crude demand.
The weak opening in the US pushed European major indices lower after they began the day mixed.
STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, was flat at 470.14 points at 1355GMT.
London’s FTSE 100 and Germany DAX 30 were down 0.1% and 0.35%, respectively, at 7,115 and 15,706 points, respectively.
France’s CAC 40 declined 0.1% to 6,810, while the IBEX 35 lost 0.3% to 8,854.
Italy’s Borsa Italiana FTSE MIB 30 was the only index in Europe to stay in positive territory, up 0.4% at 26,104 points.
Major stock markets in Asia, on the other hand, closed with gains on Monday.
The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, added just 11 points, or 0.3%, to close at 3,879. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange gained 91 points, or 0.33%, to 27,820 points.
The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, climbed 104 points, or 0.4%, to 26,283. China’s Shanghai stock exchange was up 36, or 0.15%, to 3,494 points.
