Updated: February 4, am. An electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm is seen through the window of a vehicle Monday, Feb. A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0. After the U.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost points, or 0. The U. Some of the heaviest losses hit Big Tech and other companies that could be hurt most by higher interest rates that could result from the U. Stubbornly high or accelerating inflation could keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates, which it began doing in September to give the U. Profits for U. But U. The Dow even turned briefly turned higher in the afternoon for a small gain.
But when traders came into Monday morning thinking tariffs were imminent , fear rose quickly about the potential for an escalating trade war that could damage economies worldwide, including the United States. Crude oil prices swung Monday amid the uncertainty.
The price for a barrel of benchmark U. Some on Wall Street remain skeptical about how long a trade war may last, especially considering how much attention Trump pays to the stock market. Best Buy, which sells electronics made around the world, lost 2.
The Dow dropped Instead of stocks and crypto , whose prices also fell in the tumult, investors moved instead into longer-term U. The resulting rally in their prices drove Treasury yields down. The yield on the year Treasury edged down to 4. Yields had climbed in part on worries about the possibility of higher interest rates because of stubbornly high inflation. Short-term Treasury yields rose Monday as expectations waned for cuts to rates from the Fed.
