Dow Ends Below 200-Day Moving Average
US stock indices slumped on Monday after a report that the US Treasury Department was drafting curbs that would block companies with at least 25% Chinese ownership from investing in US tech firms. The S&P 500 lost 1.4% to 2717.07 led by technology shares down 2.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 24252.80, closing below its 200-day moving average. The NASDAQ Composite index tumbled 2.1% to 7523.01. The dollar weakening continued: live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, lost 0.3% to 94.277 but is rising currently. Stock index futures indicate higher openings today.
Treasury yields fell on heaven demand. In economic news the Chicago Fed national activity index for May fell to -0.15 in May from +0.42 in April, while new home sales rose above expected 6.7% over month in May, beating the consensus estimate.
DAX Leads European Losses
European stock indices fell on Monday as trade war concerns weighed on market sentiment. Both the British Pound and euro extended gains against the dollar but are moving lower currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 2%. The DAX 30 dropped 2.5% to 12270.33 and France’s CAC 40 fell 1.9%. UK’s FTSE 100 tumbled 2.2% to 7509.84. Indices opened 0.3% - 0.6% higher today.
Asian indices Mostly Lower
Asian stock indices are mostly in red today. Nikkei recovered 0.1% to 22342 as then yen slowed its climb against the dollar. Chinese stocks are lower as President Xi said in Beijing China won’t turn the other cheek in trade flap: the Shanghai Composite Index is down 0.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.1% lower. Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries Index is down 0.2% despite the Australian dollar’s continued decline against the US dollar.
Brent Rises
Brent futures are higher today supported by a Canadian production outage and uncertainty over Libyan crude exports. Prices ended lower Monday after OPEC meeting agreement to increase crude output: August Brent crude settled 1.1% lower at $75.34 a barrel on Monday.