Wall Street stocks fell early Monday after Moody’s slashed the United States’ credit rating as markets awaited further action on President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cut measure.
Monday’s session was the first since Moody’s late Friday announced the downgrade, citing rising levels of US government debt and interest payment ratios “to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.”
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent at 42,490.30.
The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.7 percent to 5,914.20, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 1.0 percent to 19,027.87.
The Moody’s downgrade “probably weighs on markets a bit here this morning,” Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
Markets are closely watching Congress, where the full House is expected to vote this week on Trump’s fiscal legislation, which pairs tax reductions with cuts to health coverage for low-income Americans.
A House panel narrowly approved the measure on Sunday.
“The attention of markets has shifted a bit from everything being about trade to everything being about getting a budget passed,” Hogan said. “And in that light, there’s probably a bit of caution coming into a new week.”
Among individual companies, Walmart fell 2.3 percent after Trump slammed the company for warning of price increases due to his tariffs. Trump called on the retail giant to “EAT THE TARIFFS” on social media, adding, “I’ll be watching.”
