The three major indexes of the New York Stock Exchange are showing a downward trend in early trading on the 19th (local time). Market caution is rising ahead of the release of the minutes from last month's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, alongside President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
According to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as of 10:31 a.m. on this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Index) recorded a decrease of 0.27% compared to the previous trading day, at 44,436.77. The large-cap S&P 500 index dropped 0.14% to 6,120.94, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 0.29% to 19,984.06.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) will release the minutes from last month's FOMC meeting at 2 p.m. during the trading day. The Fed froze the policy interest rate at 4.25% to 4.5% last month. Subsequently, Jerome Powell, the Fed Chairman, noted several times that he would not rush to lower interest rates. The market is paying attention to the Fed Commissioners' views on the impact of the tariff policy of President Trump and the background of the interest rate freeze on inflation.
President Trump announced the previous day that he would impose tariffs of at least 25% on automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. However, he decided to postpone the implementation of universal tariffs on Canada and Mexico until April 1, leaving room for negotiations regarding reciprocal tariff measures on more countries.
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the number of new housing starts in January was 1,366,000 on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 9.8% from the previous month (1,515,000) and down 0.7% from the same month last year (1,376,000). This figure falls short of market expectations.
U.S. government bond yields are stable. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds is at 4.54%, the same as the previous trading day, while the yield on 2-year U.S. government bonds, sensitive to monetary policy, is moving at 4.28%.
Among major stocks, electric truck manufacturer Nikola is plummeting nearly 40% after filing for bankruptcy protection. Intel, which is expected to be split and sold to TSMC and Broadcom, rose 16.06% the previous day but is down 5.13% today. Tesla is up 2.42%.
International oil prices are on the rise. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for March delivery is trading at $72.74 per barrel, up 1.24% from the previous day, while the price of Brent crude oil for April delivery, the global benchmark, is trading at $76.51 per barrel, an increase of 0.88%.