NEW YORK: Wall Street opened the week lower Monday following last week’s declines that ended a two-month winning streak for the stock markets.
Absent any major news over the weekend or data releases Monday, investors appear to be continuing to pull cash out amid concerns President Donald Trump’s long-promised corporate tax cuts may be delayed or watered down.
The market also was digesting news from struggling industrial conglomerate General Electric which announced its anticipated cost cutting plan that includes thousands of layoffs, sales of major assets and slashing dividends in half.
About 15 minutes into the trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to 23,373.37.
The broader S&P 500 also fell 0.2 percent to 2,577.21, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped nearly 0.3 percent to 6,732.4.
“US stocks are beginning the week lower, joining in a global equity slide as investor concerns in regard to the potential for a successful tax overhaul in the US continue to rise,” Schwab said in its morning market commentary.
However, Schwab noted that “the long-running bull market continues and has shown few signs of faltering. Even modest pullbacks have failed to gain any momentum and the uptrend has been largely intact throughout the course of 2017.”
After announcing its restructuring plan aimed at righting the financial ship, GE shares had fallen 3.3 percent to $19.80. The company has seen its market capitalization down by more than $100 billion since January.
Key US economic data reports due out later in the week include the two inflation indexes on consumer and producer prices, as well as retail sales and housing starts.
Source: Brecorder.com
