U.S. stocks are tumbling Monday as worries about President Donald Trump’s trade war and his criticism of the Federal Reserve cause investors to pull further from the United States.
The S&P 500 was 3.1% lower in another wipeout, and the index at the center of many 401(k) accounts is more than 16% below its record set two months ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,138 points, or 2.9%, as of 1:21 p.m. Eastern time. Tesla and other Big Tech stocks had some of the sharpest losses, which dragged the Nasdaq composite down a market-leading 3.4%.
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Perhaps more worryingly, the value of the U.S. dollar also sank as a retreat continues from U.S. markets. It's an unusual move because the dollar has historically strengthened during past episodes of nervousness. But this time around, it's policies directly from Washington that are causing the fear and potentially weakening the dollar's reputation as a pillar of the global economy and one of the safest possible investments.
Trump continued his tough talk on global trade over the weekend, even as economists and investors continue to say his stiff proposed tariffs could cause a recession if they're not rolled back. U.S. talks last week with Japan have so far failed to reach a deal that could lower tariffs and help protect the economy, and they're seen as a "test case," according to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie.
"The golden rule of negotiating and success: He who has the gold makes the rules," Trump said in all capitalized letters on his Truth Social Network over the weekend. He also said that "the businessmen who criticize tariffs are bad at business, but really bad at politics," likewise in all caps.
Trump has recently focused more on China, the world's second-largest economy, which upped its own rhetoric against the world's largest economy. China on Monday warned other countries against making trade deals with the United States "at the expense of China's interest" as Japan, South Korea and others try to negotiate agreements.
"If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner," China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
Also hanging over the market are worries about Trump's anger at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump last week criticized Powell again for not cutting interest rates sooner to help give the economy more juice.
The Fed has been resistant to lowering rates too quickly because it does not want to allow inflation to reaccelerate after it has slowed nearly all the way down to its 2% goal from more than 9% three years ago.
Trump talked again on Monday about a slowing for the U.S. economy that could be coming unless "Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates."
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A move to fire Powell would likely send another bolt of fear through financial markets. While investors always love lower interest rates, because they boost prices for stocks and other investments, the larger worry would be that a less independent Fed would be less effective at keeping inflation under control in the long run. Such a move would further weaken, if not kill, the United States' reputation as the world's safest place to keep cash.
On Wall Street, several Big Tech stocks helped lead indexes lower ahead of their latest earnings reports due later this week.
Tesla sank 6.7%, for example. The electric vehicle's stock came into Monday roughly 50% below its record set in December on criticism that its stock price had gone too high and that its brand has become too entwined with Elon Musk, who's leading the U.S. government's efforts to cut spending.
On the winning side of Wall Street were Discover Financial Services and Capital One Financial, which jumped after the U.S. government approved their proposed merger.
Discover rallied 3%, and Capital One rose 0.9%.
In the bond market, shorter-term Treasury yields fell as investors kept alive hopes that the Fed may cut its main overnight interest rate later this year in order to support the economy.
Longer-term yields swiveled up and down, though, as doubts continue to rise about the United States' standing in the global economy.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury topped 4.40% in the morning, up from 4.34% at the end of last week and from just about 4% earlier this month. That's a substantial move for the bond market. But it later regressed back to 4.34%.
The U.S. dollar's value, meanwhile, fell against the euro, Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and other currencies.
In stock markets abroad, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%. Indexes fared better in Seoul, where stocks rose 0.2%, and in Shanghai, which saw a 0.4% gain.
