As tough U.S. stimulus negotiations loom, mixed corporate earnings reports in Europe left global equities treading water and sent investors into perceived safe-haven assets like government bonds and gold, which hovered near record highs.
U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday announced a $1 trillion coronavirus aid package hammered out with the White House, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell touted as a “tailored and targeted” plan to reopen schools and businesses.
But the proposal sparked immediate opposition from both Democrats, who called it too limited compared with their $3 trillion proposal that passed the House of Representatives in May, and some Republicans who called it too expensive.
In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 113.27 points, or 0.43%, to 26,471.5, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.29 points, or 0.10%, to 3,236.12 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 30.78 points, or 0.29%, to 10,505.49.
The rest of the week will see 179 S&P 500 companies reporting second-quarter earnings, including Google, Amazon and Apple.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote yesterday, we’re a long way from agreement on the next round of U.S stimulus. Hopefully, the Senate, House, and the Trump administration can line up sooner than later on an effective and efficient stimulus package.