US Stock Market: DJIA, S&P500 and Nasdaq turns red in early trade on Monday

Stocks turned lower in morning trade on Wall Street Monday amid concerns about soaring inflation and interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 slipped 1.2% as of 10:19 am Eastern Time Zone and over 90% of stocks within the index lost ground. The benchmark continues to fall after a weak finish last week and losing for a third straight week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 371 points or 1.1% to 33,440. The Nasdaq fell 0.14% to 12,822.58.

Also Read | US Premarket: Twitter, Kellog and other stocks making biggest moves

US stocks are following the global market downfall, especially in China, amid concerns that strict lockdown measures can shrink the second-largest economy in the world and potentially affect global economic growth. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 3.7%. The Shanghai Composite plunged 5.1%.

Also Read | Twitter likely to give in to Elon Musk’s initial $43 billion deal: Report

China’s capital Beijing started mass testing more than 3 million people on Monday. It has restricted residents in one part of the city to their compounds, raising worries of a strict lockdown similar to Shanghai. The city is under a lockdown for over two weeks and has prompted the International Monetary Fund to trim its growth forecast for China’s economy.

Also Read | Fake Twitter accounts spread Chinese propaganda regarding Uyghurs: Report

Prices for US government bonds surged as traders started shifting from risky options. The yield on the 10-year treasury, which determines rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, dipped significantly to 2.78% from 2.90% on Friday.

Energy stocks were among the biggest laggards as US crude oil prices fell 5.6%. Exxon Mobil slipped 5.2%.

Significant losses were seen in bank and technology stocks. Bank of America slipped 3.2% and Apple fell 1.6%.

Also Read | Explained: What are humanitarian corridors, and why they are important

Twitter was one of the few gainers in the market, surging 3.4%. The social media giant and the Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly discussing a buyout offer.

Several big companies will release their corporate earnings this week. Markets gave mixed reactions to the latest round of report cards. Industrial giant Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Amazon and Apple will release their reports on Thursday.

Also Read | Russia offers ceasefire near Azovstal steel plant for civilian evacuation

The Conference Board will announce its measure of consumer confidence for April 2022 on Tuesday. The Commerce Department will release its gross domestic product report for the first quarter on Thursday.