- The S&P 500 was down for the first time in nine trading days on Monday. The Nasdaq was also down slightly on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as well after being positive for much of the day. The main focus for investors remain trade deals, as they look ahead to Wednesday’s Fed meeting.
The S&P 500 ended its longest positive streak in more than 20 years on Monday. The S&P closed down 0.6%, snapping a nine-session winning streak, its longest since 2004.
The Dow closed the day down 98 points after being up for most of the day. With about 20 minutes left before the market closed, the index sold off, ending up negative for the day. The Nasdaq also closed negative, down 0.7%.
All the major indices rose from session lows earlier in the day, but not enough to claw back the losses. The S&P and the Nasdaq were down about 1% at one point in the morning before eking up for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, the Dow dropped as much as 250 points.
Investors were trying to extend an excellent run of daily growth that started last month. Markets had rallied since the initial shock of President Donald Trump’s tariffs dissipated in mid-April.
The driving force behind the S&P 500’s positive run was the belief the U.S. would land several trade deals with foreign countries very soon. At the same time, markets seemed optimistic as the U.S. and China were inching toward starting negotiations on a trade deal.
Trade deals continue to be the driving force behind market moves. On Monday, markets started the day much lower than where they closed on Friday, but climbed throughout the day.
Over the weekend, Trump made another surprise tariff announcement that caught investors off guard and did little to assuage any fears about a lack of certainty in the market. On Sunday, the President announced a 100% tariff on movies outside the U.S. The unexpected decree was a blow to investors that had hoped tariff levels would remain more or less where they are now. Instead, Trump added a new round of sectoral tariffs, this time on the entertainment industry.
However, investors seemed to react positively to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent comments during a CNBC interview when he said the U.S. was “very close to some deals.”
On Monday, markets received a bit of good news when the April ISM services report, which measures the conditions of service companies, beat expectations. With economists and CEOs warning of slumps in consumer confidence as a result of the White House’s tariff policy, analysts were pleasantly surprised to see April deliver an uptick in economic activity in April.
For the rest of the week, all eyes will be on the Fed meeting that will take place Tuesday and Wednesday. Investors largely expect the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady. They will nonetheless be parsing every word from Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Wednesday press conference for any further clues about the economy. So far, Powell has acknowledged the outlook for the U.S. included “higher inflation and slower growth.”
