- U.S. stock indexes fell on Monday, reversing the positive trend from the previous week. The Magnificent Seven tech stocks all fell on the day. At the same time, investors got mixed messages on possible trade deals, which they had been banking on.
On Monday U.S. stocks rebounded late in the day to finish marginally higher.
The Dow Jones rose 106 points, while the S&P 500 finished essentially flat, higher by 0.14% on the day. Meanwhile, the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite also rallied from lows in the afternoon but ended slightly negative, down 0.01%.
Earlier in the day indexes had slumped lower as investors drew down from some of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks. As Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon prepare to report their first set of earnings this week since President Donald Trump announced his tariff policy in early April, investors were girding themselves ahead of possibly unfavorable news. Apple in particular will be closely watched given that many of its products are manufactured in China, which has been hit with the steepest tariffs.
The megacap tech stocks have an outsize influence on the broader stock market. Just as they powered U.S. stocks to back-to-back years of excellent returns, some skittishness on Monday led to an intraday slump. Some of the Magnificent Seven stocks recovered from lows earlier in the trading session. Meta finished the day up 0.5%, Apple rose 0.4%, and Tesla went up 0.3%. Microsoft was just a hair under where it started the day, ending Monday down 0.2%.
A few of the other big-name tech stocks ended the day down. Amazon saw its share price decline 0.7%, and Nvidia sank 2.1%.
Monday’s wobbly performance was a reversal from last week, which saw markets rebound after the thumping they took when President Donald Trump announced his tariff policy. This week investors will be looking to the White House’s progress on trade deals as signs that the economy will stabilize.
However, investors received little news about potential trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries. Without them there is a fear the U.S. will remain mired in a tariff-induced economic downturn because foreign trade could dry up.
“This is mostly talk, for now, and we remain skeptical that there will be enough concrete momentum in trade discussions to sidestep a U.S. recession,” wrote Barclays economist Jonathan Millar.
Investors keep getting mixed messages from government officials over the progress being made on certain trade deals. Early Monday morning, before the markets opened, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. was in talks with 18 countries over trade deals. However, over the weekend President Donald Trump claimed he had made 200 deals. On Sunday Bessent then clarified that Trump was likely referring to “sub-deals within negotiations.”
Bessent did signal that a deal with India would be among the first signed.
The White House has also offered conflicting views on its stance toward China, the world’s second largest economy and the country with whom tensions have escalated the most. Both countries hit each other with reciprocal tariffs north of 100% that have essentially shuttered trade between the two. Bessent hinted that the U.S. had spoken with Chinese officials because the two economies had “lots of touchpoints.” Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had also discussed the matter. The Chinese foreign ministry denied the two leaders had spoken.
Investors will be looking to see if China and the U.S. can continue to find common ground for markets to rally.
“Investors may need to see the White House follow through on last week’s dovish pivot toward trade with China,” wrote E*Trade managing director Chris Larkin in a note.
Later this week investors will be keeping an eye on a series of key economic measures including first quarter U.S. GDP, the ISM manufacturing survey, and the April jobs report, all of which will offer insight into the exact impact Trump’s tariffs might be having on the economy.
