US stocks slip on Wall Street on signs of weaker spending by consumers

Globe and Mail

4 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling following signals that one of the economy's main engines, spending by households, is weakening while Israel's conflict with Iran may be worsening. The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in early trading Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 163 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower. Treasury yields also nudged lower in the bond market after a report said shoppers spent less last month at retailers than the month before and less than economists expected. Solar stocks fell amid worries that Congress may phase out tax credits for renewable energy.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
BANGKOK (AP) — Share prices skidded in Europe and Asia on Tuesday after Israel's military issued an evacuation warning to 330,000 people in Iran's capital Tehran. U.S. futures also declined.
Oil prices gained more than $1 a barrel after the warning for a part of the city of 9.5 million that houses Iran's state TV and police headquarters and three large hospitals, including one owned by the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The evacuation warning was for a part of Tehran that houses the country's state TV and police headquarters and three large hospitals, including one owned by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was returning from the G7 summit in Canada a day early due to the intensifying conflict.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.6%.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX sank 1.3% to 23,380.79, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.9% to 7,669.44. Britain's FTSE 100 gave up 0.5% to 8,833.00.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6% to 38,536.74 as the Japanese central bank opted to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5%.
The Bank of Japan has been gradually raising its rate from near zero and cutting back on its purchases of Japanese government bonds and other assets to help counter inflation. It said economic growth was likely to moderate and there was some weakness in consumer sentiment, housing investment.
'In particular, it is extremely uncertain how trade and policies in each jurisdiction will evolve and how overseas activity and prices will react to them,' the BOJ's statement said.
Chinese shares edged lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 0.3% to 23,980.30. The Shanghai Composite index was barely changed at 3,387.40.
In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.1% to 2,950.30.
Australia's S&P/ASX 500 gave up 0.1% to 8,541.30. Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.7% and in Bangkok the SET was little changed.
As Israel and Iran attack each other the fear remains that a wider war could constrict the flow of Iran's oil to its customers. That in turn could raise gasoline prices worldwide and keep them high, though spikes in prices from previous conflicts have been brief.
Crude jumped 7% late last week after Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets. Early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.05 to $72.82 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up $1.13 at $74.34 per barrel.
The mood was calm Monday on Wall Street, as the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to reclaim most of its drop from Friday. The Dow industrials added 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.5%.
U.S. Steel rose 5.1% after Trump signed an executive order on Friday paving the way for an investment in the company by Japan's Nippon Steel. Trump would have unique influence over the operations of U.S. Steel under the terms of the deal.
The price of gold receded after jumping on Friday, when investors were looking for someplace safe to park their cash. An ounce of gold fell $18.40 to $3,398.70 per ounce.
Investors have other concerns, key among them Trump's tariffs, which still threaten to slow the U.S. economy and raise inflation if Washington doesn't win trade deals with other countries.
The specter of those tariffs was looming over the meeting of the Group of Seven meeting of major economies in Canada.
Later this week, the Federal Reserve is set to discuss whether to lower or raise interest rates, with the decision due on Wednesday. The nearly unanimous expectation among traders and economists is that the Fed will stand pat.
The Federal Reserve has hesitated to lower interest rates after one cut late last year. It is waiting to see how much Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation, which has remained tame recently, and is near the Fed's 2% target.
More important for financial markets are forecasts for where Fed officials they see the economy and interest rates heading in upcoming years.
In other dealings early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar rose to 144.80 Japanese yen from 144.75 yen. The euro fell to $1.1557 from $1.1562.