Shares were mostly higher early Tuesday in Asia after benchmarks fell on Wall Street, snapping a nine-day winning streak.
Oil prices bounced back slightly from a 4-year low and U.S. stock futures slipped.
A recent monthly survey assessing the future activities in China’s services sector dropped to its lowest point ever, outside of the pandemic period, indicating that the intensifying trade conflict initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump is negatively impacting the world’s second-largest economy.
A drastic increase in tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese products, to 145%, has caused a sharp drop in shipping and other logistics.
Caixin, a prominent financial media organization, noted in their report, “Overall confidence among Chinese companies has diminished to its lowest point since this series commenced in April 2012, leading to more job reductions in April.”
Despite this, Chinese stocks saw gains following the conclusion of the “Golden Week” holiday period. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7% to 3,302.83, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased by 0.4% to reach 22,599.32.
Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.2% higher.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,144.20.
U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 74 cents to $57.87 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, also added 74 cents, $60.97 per barrel.
The OPEC+ group of eight oil producing nations announced over the weekend that it will raise its output by 411,000 barrels per day as of June 1. The expected increase caused U.S. crude prices to dip as much as 4% on Monday.
Many producers can no longer turn a profit once oil falls below $60. Prices are down sharply for the year over worries about an economic slowdown.
The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,650.38 on Monday, ending its longest winning streak since 2004.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 41,218.83. The Nasdaq composite shed 0.7% to 17,844.24.
Technology companies and other big stocks were among the heaviest weights on the market. Apple slumped 3.1%, while Amazon fell 1.9% and Tesla slipped 2.4%.
Berkshire Hathaway fell 5.1% after legendary investor Warren Buffett announced he would step down as its CEO by the end of the year after six decades at the helm. Buffett will still be its board chairman.
Markets have been absorbing the shock of tariffs and the growing trade war. A three-month delay in many of the severest tariffs that were supposed to take effect in April, excluding China, has provided some relief to Wall Street, but uncertainty about the impact from current and future tariffs remains.
Concerns about inflation reigniting also have deepened.
Such issues will overshadow the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday, when it is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady. The Fed cut the rate three times in 2024 before taking a breather to watch what happens with inflation, which has been hovering just above the Fed’s target rate of 2%.
While still resilient, the U.S. economy has shown some signs of strain from tariffs and the lack of clarity about how Trump’s policies will evolve. The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% in the first quarter, the first drop in three years.
Ford Motor Co. said Monday it expects to take a $1.5 billion hit to its operating profit from tariffs this year. Its shares fell 2.5% in after hours trading.
Tariffs have been imposed, only to be pulled or delayed, sometimes on a daily basis. The on-again-off-again approach has left businesses, households and economists at a loss in trying to forecast where the economy might be headed and planning accordingly.
The latest salvo in the trade war from Trump came Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform. He said he has authorized a 100% tariff on movies that are produced outside of the U.S. The impact is unclear, as it is common for films to include production at multiple locations around the world.
Netflix slumped 1.9% and Warner Bros. Discovery fell 2%.
Shoemakers posted gains following the announcement that Skechers is being acquired for $9 billion and taken private by the investment firm by 3G Capital. Skechers jumped 24.3%.
Treasury yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.35% from 4.31% late Friday.
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AP Business writers Damian Troise and Matt Ott contributed to this story.
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