US stocks opened lower on Monday as global trade tensions increased after China pushed back against Donald Trump's accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. The increase in US steel tariffs from 25% to 50% also jolted markets.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 200 points, or 0.5%, at 42,070, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3% to remain above 19,063.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to fall below 5,900. Eight of the eleven sectoral indices were trading in red led by consumer discretionary and real estate, with only energy and informational technology seeing declines.
June's weak start for Wall Street comes after the S&P 500 ended May with a more than 6% gain, its best monthly performance since November 2023. The Nasdaq surged more than 9% for the month and the Dow Jones rose about 4%.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped after a smaller-than-expected OPEC+ production increase. International benchmark Brent jumped nearly 3% to near $66 per barrel.
The dollar weakened against major currencies. The dollar index fell 0.5% to 98.86. The Japanese yen gained 0.75% to 142.95 against the greenback, while the euro and pound rose 0.5%
The dollar is trading near the lowest level since 2023 after extending losses for the year to 7.6%, according to Bloomberg.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond rose three basis points to 4.43%.
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