Dow Set to Open Down as Tariff Fears Reignite
U.S. stocks looked set to drop again on Tuesday, as investors saw a looming Federal Reserve meeting and fresh tariff uncertainty as a reason to dump equities following a recent hot streak.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 81 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures slid 0.3%, the day after the blue-chip index snapped its longest winning streak since 2004. Contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were down 0.6%.
“Not only does this represent a distinct souring of the trade tone, compared to the relative positivity of the last couple of weeks, it also represents a notable escalation in the trade saga… The broad point here is that tariff incoherence, and uncertainty, isn’t going away any time soon,” Pepperstone research strategist Michael Brown said Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve could be another top-of-mind issue for investors this week. The central bank’s May meeting is set to kick off Tuesday. Policymakers are widely expected to hold interest rates at their current level, but Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks Wednesday could give the market an idea of where borrowing costs are headed.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note ticked up 2 basis points to 4.37% on Tuesday. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s strength against a basket of six other currencies, slid 0.2%.