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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Monday as investors worried surging interest rates and foreign currency turmoil could push the S&P 500 to a new closing low for the year.
The 30-stock index kept on its negative trend, losing 197.74 points to 29,392.67.
The S&P 500 let go of previous gains and again dropped 18.01 points from its 2022 closing low, to 3,675.22.
The NASDAQ Composite was 4.2 points shy of breakeven to 10,863.73.
Consumer discretionary strengthened 1.3%, and information technology climbed 0.8%, to give support to stocks. Casino stocks led outperformance. Wynn Resorts jumped 12.9%, and Las Vegas Sands was 12.5% higher, following news that China would allow tour groups in Macau for the first time in nearly three years.
The British pound dropped to a record low on Monday against the U.S. dollar. Sterling at one point fell 4% to an all-time low of $1.0382. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign, coupled with U.K.’s tax cuts announced last week has caused the U.S. dollar to surge.
The euro hit the lowest versus the dollar since 2002. A surging greenback can hurt the profits of U.S. multinationals and also wreak havoc on global trade, with so much of it transacted in dollars.
Treasury prices sagged, bringing yields up to 3.80% from Friday’s 3.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Oil prices lost 74 cents to $78.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dwindled $13.50 to $1,642.10 U.S. an ounce.
