WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks have regained ground over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows of the session, with the Nasdaq briefly reaching positive territory.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The Nasdaq is down 16.24 points or 0.1 percent at 19,097.53, the S&P 500 is down 13.32 points or 0.2 percent at 5,898.37 and the Dow is down 184.61 points or 0.4 percent at 42,085.46.
The early weakness on Wall Street partly reflected renewed trade concerns amid further signs of rising tensions between the U.S. and China.
China on Monday pushed back against President Donald Trump's claims that it had broken the Geneva trade agreement, accusing the U.S. of violating the deal with increased tech export restrictions and the revocation of Chinese student visas.
'These practices seriously violate the consensus reached by the two heads of state on January 17, seriously undermine the existing consensus of the Geneva economic and trade talks, and seriously damage China's legitimate rights and interests,' a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said.
A collapse of the U.S.-China trade agreement could lead to considerable weakness among stocks, which have shown a considerable recovery since Trump's 'reciprocal tariff' announcement in early April.
The Trump administration has also announced it will double the current tariff rate on steel and aluminum imports from 25 percent to 50 percent.
However, selling pressure waned following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly edged slightly lower in the month of May.
The ISM said its manufacturing PMI slipped to 48.5 in May from 48.7 in April, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 49.5.
With the unexpected decline, the manufacturing PMI dipped to its lowest level hitting 48.4 in November 2024.
The report may have generated some optimism about the outlook for interest rates amid signs of U.S. economic weakness due to Trump's trade war.
Sector News
Housing stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 2.0 percent.
Notable weakness is also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
On the other hand, gold stocks are moving sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index soaring by 6.0 percent.
Steel stocks have also spiked after Trump doubled tariffs on steel imports, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 3.0 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.6 percent.
Most European stocks have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness after ending last Friday's trading little changed. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.2 basis points at 4.430 percent.
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