Wall Street stocks slipped and US Treasury yields jumped on Monday after ratings agency Moody’s cut the United States’ credit rating.
Moody’s late on Friday slashed the United States’ sovereign credit rating to “Aa1” from “Aaa”, citing rising levels of government debt and interest payment ratios “to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.”
At 09:35 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 222.40 points, or 0.52%, to 42,432.34, the S&P 500 lost 55.42 points, or 0.93%, to 5,902.96, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 257.49 points, or 1.34%, to 18,953.61.
Investors are closely watching the US Congress, where the House is expected to vote this week on President Donald Trump’s fiscal legislation, which pairs tax reductions with cuts to health coverage for low-income Americans.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in television interviews over the weekend that Trump would impose tariffs at the rates he had threatened last month on trading partners that do not negotiate deals in “good faith”.
In the bond market, the Treasury yields spiked after Moody’s cut the US sovereign rating. T he yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.52% from 4.43% late on Friday.
Gainers and Losers
Walmart shares dropped 2.3% after Trump slammed the retailer for warning of price hikes due to his tariffs.
Trump called on the retail giant to “EAT THE TARIFFS” on social media, adding: “I’ll be watching.”
Netflix lost almost 1% after JPMorgan removed the stock from its US analyst focus list.
TXNM Energy shares surged 7.6% after the company said Blackstone’s infrastructure unit would acquire it for $11.5 billion.
Among megacap stocks, Tesla was the worst hit, falling 4.1%.
Chip giant Nvidia edged down 1.4%, Apple fell2.33%, Microsoft rose 0.46%, and Meta Platforms 0.41%.
