U.S. stocks fall as China adds to tariff jitters

U.S. stocks fell on Monday as tariffs continued to dictate sentiment, with China’s threat to countries siding with the United States a new layer to the trade war environment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all opened lower on Monday, with investor concerns around tariffs and President Trump’s push to replace Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. 

Jitters on tariff policies increased as China indicated payback would be an option against countries taking the side of the U.S. in the escalating trade war.

While investors are likely to watch out for Big Tech earnings this week, tariffs and the Fed question remains a big concern. That explains the negative market reaction on Wall Street, with the S & P 500 down 1.2%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq -1.5% and the Dow shedding over 360 points, or 0.9% down at open.

The stock market swings witnessed over the past weeks, have however come with a rally for gold. As the U.S. dollar experienced weakness since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement, gold has spiked to a record high above $3,400. 

Mohamed El-Erian, President, Queens’ College, Cambridge University and Allianz Advisor, says the dollar tanking as yields explode ‘defies historical correlations.”

It’s not just dollar weakness amid trade war concerns that has helped the flight to safe haven assets that has the bullion on a roll. Most investor’s concerns are only amplified with the potential for negative impact of Trump’s interference with the Fed’s independence.

But analysts say a downward reaction to this scenario could see gold higher. 

Although Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto have mirrored stocks in recent weeks, the influx of capital into safe haven assets could see BTC regain momentum. The benchmark cryptocurrency has surged to above $87k in the past 24 hours.

Tom Lee, Fundstrat co-founder and managing partner, told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ in an interview that markets could yet experience further pain.

He however predicts a bullish flip will see Bitcoin “catch up to gold.”