The calm trading may not last long, though, with a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates coming this week and worries continuing about how the President’s trade war will affect the economy.
U.S. stocks are holding steadier Monday, and the market’s scary roller-coaster ride from recent weeks is slowing. The calm trading may be short-lived, though, with a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates coming later in the week and worries continuing about President Donald Trump’s trade war.
The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in morning trading, coming off its fourth straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 144 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.
Stocks have been tumbling recently on worries that Trump’s rat -a- tat announcements on tariffs and other policies are creating so much uncertainty that they’ll push U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending, which would hurt the economy. Surveys have shown sharp drops in confidence, and some companies are already warning about changes in behavior from their customers.
A report on Monday said U.S. retailers broadly saw weaker revenue last month than economists expected, but it may not have been quite as bad as it seemed on the surface.
Much of the shortfall in growth versus expectations was due to weaker-than-forecast sales of automobiles and lower fuel costs. Outside of them, the performance was closer to expectations.
