The Dow failed to hit a record high on Monday, finishing the day just barely in the green.
The Dow closed flat, up only 8 points. It sits 0.4%, or 101 points, below the all-time closing high it recorded in October, according to Refinitiv. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both finished lower, down 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. The S&P hit a closing record Thursday.
The Dow could be “thousands of points” higher, if the “Fed had gotten it right,” claimed President Donald Trump in a tweet earlier on Monday. The president has long criticized the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, which he believes poses a hurdle to US growth.
At the start of the trading day, stocks had seemed unfazed by lingering trade worries and the heightened tensions between the United States and Iran on Monday. But sentiment soured throughout the day. Trump announced “hard-hitting” sanctions against Iran earlier, after tweeting about doing so over the weekend. Last week, Iran shot down a US military drone.
But the situation in the Middle East is keeping oil prices higher.
Last week, US oil futures jumped more than 9%. Futures settled 0.8% higher at $57.90 a barrel on Monday, according to CME. In a tweet, Trump said although many countries rely on oil from the region, “we don’t even need to be there in that the U.S. has just become (by far) the largest producer of Energy anywhere in the world!”
Gold remains a hot commodity. Geopolitical worries, paired with a weaker US dollar, are giving the safe haven metal a significant boost. After rallying more than 4% last week, gold futures settled up 1.3% at 1,414.30 an ounce, according to CME.
Gold breached the $1,400 level late last week, marking a near six-year high.
For the week ahead, market watchers will be all about the G20 summit in Japan, as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet and talk trade on the summit sidelines.
Even if no deal is reached immediately, their meeting could set the tone for the next phase of the trade spat.
