Stocks opened lower on Wall Street and the dollar hit fresh multiyear lows against the euro and other major currencies. Yields on longer-term Treasurys rose and gold surged to a fresh record high.
Markets are on edge about President Trump’s tariff war as well as his threats to fire Fed chief Jerome Powell. Trump on Monday demanded lower rates in a post on social media, saying costs are trending downward and the economy could slow “unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW.”
Major stock indexes were down, with the Nasdaq taking the biggest hit, falling more than 2%.
Big tech shares fell, led lower by Tesla, Nvidia and Apple.
The ICE U.S. dollar index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, slipped more than 1% to its lowest level in three years. The dollar hit fresh lows against the euro, pound, yen and Swiss franc.
Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year up to 4.38%
Gold surged to over $3,400 a troy ounce, a new record. Bitcoin rallied.
Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.3%. China’s CSI 300 rose 0.3%.
Markets in Hong Kong and Europe were closed for the Easter holiday.