U.S. Stock market indexes S&P 500, Dow Jones set for slow opening on Tuesday after record-highs

U.S Stock Market indexes are set for a less prolific opening at the Wall Street. Some nervousness was still evident in the market, though, amid concern that the Fed may be on the path to less independence in setting interest rates to keep inflation under control. Gold remains steady, and the U.S. dollar becomes volatile. U.S. S&P 500 e-mini futures down 0.1 per cent, Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.16 per cent, Dow futures down 0.1 per cent.

U.S. stock futures fell slightly on Tuesday. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined nearly 0.1 per cent.

On Wall Street, concern over the potential consequences of a weakening of the Federal Reserve's independence in setting interest rates appeared to be offset by investors' expectations that President Donald Trump may prevail in pushing the central bank to cut rates at a faster pace. Lower interest rates mean cheap credit and tend to fuel stronger stock prices.


Tensions between Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell escalated after the Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over Powell's testimony regarding building renovations at the central bank's headquarters.

Wall Street stocks finished at new records on Monday, shrugging off worries about a US criminal probe of the Federal Reserve that initially weighed on equities. Both the Dow and S&P 500 ended the day with modest gains of 0.2 percent, which was good enough to lift both indices to records for a second straight day. The Nasdaq also bounced back from early losses after Sunday night's disclosure of the US Department of Justice probe into the Federal Reserve dented stocks in the early going, while lifting gold and silver prices to new all-time highs.

On Monday, S&P 500 rose 10.99 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 6,977.27. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.13 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 49,590.20. Nasdaq composite rose 62.56 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 23,733.90. Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 11.47 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,635.69.

For the year, S&P 500 is up 131.77 points, or 1.9 per cent, Dow Jones is up 1,526.91 points, or 3.2 per cent, Nasdaq is up 491.91 points, or 2.1 per cent, Russell 2000 is up 153.79 points, or 6.2 per cent.

FAQs

Q1. How have Google-parent Alphabet performed?

A1. Alphabet, Google's parent, gained 1 per cent, taking its market value to more than USD 4 trillion, after Apple said it would use Google's Gemini to help smarten up virtual assistant Siri in a new deal.

Q2. Why did credit companies' stocks fall?

A2. Credit card companies led losses after Trump said he wanted a one-year, 10 per cent cap on credit card interest rates, which could eat into the profits of these companies. Synchrony Financial dipped 8.4 per cent, Capital One Financial fell 6.4 per cent, and American Express edged down 4.3 per cent.