Stocks pulled back from Friday's record-setting closings in early trading Monday due to comments President Donald Trump made over the weekend regarding the U.S-China trade war. Trump said that trade talks were moving more slowly than he wanted. Stocks in later trading pared their losses and the Dow Jones edged just over into positive territory in later trading from the closing highs of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) and Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA).
Here's how the stock market closed Monday:
S&P 500 Index (SPY): -0.2% or -6.07 points
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA): +0.04% or +10.25 points
Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ): -0.13% or -11.04 points
Trump's statement caused stock futures to lower and cooled down investor trade optimism. Other news that has affected the markets today include increasingly violent demonstrations in Hong Kong. Footages surfaced Monday of a police officer shooting a protestor and a man being set on fire. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index plummeted down -2.6%, which is its largest drop since August.
Many major companies have stated that they have been impacted by the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The corporations include Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL), Coty (NYSE: COTY), Disney (NYSE: DIS), Tapestry (NYSE: TPR), Capri Holdings (NYSE: CPRI), VF Corp (NYSE: VFC), Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX), Levi Strauss (NYSE: LEVI), Fossil Group (NASDAQ: FOSL), Shake Shack (NSYE: SHAK), Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR), Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT), Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN), Melco Resorts (NASDAQ: MLCO), MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), HSBC (NYSE: HSBC), Ferrari (NYSE: RACE).
In U.S. Stock Sector news, most sectors took a hit in trading on Monday. The few who gained include Real Estate +0.22%, Industrials +0.07%, and Information Technology +0.06%. Those who lost today include Utilities -0.68%, Energy -0.56%, Health Care -0.41%, Communication Services -0.39%, Consumer Discretionary -0.27%, Financials -0.26%, Consumer Staples -0.20%, and Materials -0.11%.
Finally in Commodity and Currency news, oil prices continue to lower. West Texas Intermediate dropping almost -0.20%, pricing barrels at just over $56.60. Brent Crude took a harder hit, with prices slipping -0.50% to price barrels just above $62. Natural Gas (UNG) futures closed -5.4% to $2.637/MMBtu, which is the lowest settlement since the end of October and is the steepest dollar and percentage decline since January. The prices dropping following report form the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration that forecasted warmer than normal weather over the next 8-14 days. On the other hand, gold has begun to rise, with prices increasing almost 0.08%, pricing an ounce around $1,457. The U.S. dollar has begun to drop Monday, with the DXY index dropping almost -0.15%, pricing to $98.