US stocks lower at the start of a new week

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Extend last week’s retracement from record highs.
• US tax-delay concerns weighing.
• UK political jitters further dent investors’ appetite.

Major US equity indices extended last week's retracement from record highs and witnessed a weaker opening on Monday on uncertainty around the Republican tax-cut legislation.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 65-points to 23,355, while the broader S&P 500 Index fell nearly 7-points to 2,575. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index underperformed and slipped around 23-points to 6,727.

Today's slide came after the Dow and S&P 500 suffered their first weekly decline since early September amid growing anxiety about a possible delay in the highly-anticipated corporate tax cuts, which had been one of the key factors driving the markets to record highs since the beginning of this year.

Last Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee released its draft tax bill, which differed from the House Republicans’ plan and proposed to delay implementing a cut in corporate tax to a 20% rate from 35% until 2019.

The market sentiment was further being weighed down by the latest political development in the UK, where in 40 members of parliament from Prime Minister May's Conservative Party have agreed to sign a letter of no confidence.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

AUD/USD falls to near 0.7100 after slipping below 50-day EMA

AUD/USD depreciates after registering minor gains in the previous day, trading around 0.7120 during the Asian hours. The technical analysis of the daily chart shows the pair consolidating sideways within a rectangle pattern, as neither bulls nor bears gain control. The AUD/USD pair is holding a slight bearish tone however as it sits beneath both the nine-day and 50-day EMAs.

160.00: USD/JPY back near intervention territory after upbeat US jobs report

US Nonfarm Payrolls beat expectations by a wide margin in May, with 172K jobs added. The US Dollar rebounds after the release, helping USD/JPY recover from its intraday lows. Warnings from Japanese authorities continue to limit upside potential near the 160.00 threshold.

Gold targets $4,300 amid stronger Dollar

Gold faces increasing selling interest and navigates the area of three-month lows near the $4,300 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The precious metal’s decline comes as traders assess the stronger-than-expected NFP, while the bid bias in the Greenback and higher US Treasury yields also collaborate with the retracement.

Cardano hits five-year low even as Hoskinson clarifies "break" isn't an exit

Cardano (ADA) price is down 10% at press time on Friday, extending losses over 30% so far this week amid Charles Hoskinson's clarification that "break" isn't an exit.

Week ahead – Fed countdown begins amid US inflation data and geopolitical risks

Fed Chair Warsh’s first meeting approaches as key US inflation data could reshape expectations. Oil prices remain elevated as US-Iran talks continue; tariffs also return to the spotlight. ECB is expected to hike; will it be a one-off move or is July live?

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.