The US stock market opened lower on Monday. The S&P 500 tanked 1.3% to 5,870. Six of the eleven sectoral indices were trading in red, led by declines in information technology, healthcare, and real estate, while consumer discretionary and energy saw advances.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%, or 120 points, to reach 43,350, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.13% to trade above 18,700.
The three major US stock benchmarks have retreated from the recent highs reached after Donald Trump’s election victory.
Concerns over the direction of interest rates remain a key worry for investors, especially after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell remarked last week that the central bank is "not in a hurry" to cut rates, given the strong economic growth and robust labour market. His comments contributed to last week’s market sell-off, CNBC reported.
Top gainers include Super Micro Computer Inc. and Tesla Inc., rising 20% and 7%, respectively. The electric vehicle maker jumped after reports that Trump is planning to make a national regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles a top priority for the US Transportation Department.
Losses were led by Uber Technologies Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., and Nvidia Corp.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped four basis points to 4.46%.
The US dollar weakened against major currencies, particularly the Japanese Yen. The Bloomberg Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of six others, fell 0.2% to 106.46. The yen gained as much as 0.7% against the greenback.
Spot gold prices gained 1.8% to $2,610 an ounce.
International benchmark Brent crude oil rose 2.4% to $72.80 per barrel following an escalation of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend.