Dow slips 200 points ahead of key Fed meeting

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping more than 200 points, signalling the broader risk assets market was largely constrained after last week’s gains.

As the Dow fell 200 points, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% and the tech heavy Nasdaq opened 0.8% down. This outlook for U.S. stocks came as Wall Street braced for a big week in terms of tariffs developments and crucially, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two day meeting.

Over the past week, stocks edged higher amid notable remarks on the U.S.-China trade war front.

However, with reports that there’s no imminent deal, and President Donald Trump’s new tariff threat on foreign media, a revival in jittery sentiment sees the market delicately poised.

In particular, Trump announced 100% tariff on movies made outside of the United States. He posted this on social media on Sunday, May 4, noting an immediate implementation of the process.

This, the trade war worries and Fed’s policy decision this week, stand out for investors.

A pullback in futures on Monday had seen the flagship crypto asset Bitcoin (BTC) dip to lows of $94k.

This happens as the U.S. dollar shed further dominance. Meanwhile, the 10 year U.S. Treasury yield held steady.

Ahead in the week, investor attention will focus not just on Fed’s meeting, but also on macroeconomic data. The earnings season also continues with some of the top companies in the spotlight set to include automaker Ford (F) and Palantir (PLTR).

Other expected to release earnings reports will be Disney (DIS) and AMD (AMD).On the data front, key releases include manufacturing activity data on Monday and on jobless claims report on Tuesday.

Investors will be keen on these reports as notable economic indicators.