Kamal Ghorui
US stocks edged lower on Monday as the momentum from a strong global rally that began in Asia lost steam by the time trading reached Wall Street.The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent in early trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62 points, or 0.1 per cent, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.4 per cent, AP reported.The softer start followed a sharp surge in Asian markets, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 3.9 per cent to a record high after the ruling party secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections. Investors expect the political outcome to strengthen Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ability to push economic and market reforms.On Wall Street, markets paused after Friday’s strong rally, which marked the best session since May. However, concerns continue to linger over stretched valuations, with the S&P 500 still trading near its all-time high set last month.Investors are also increasingly questioning whether heavy spending by Big Tech and other companies on artificial intelligence will generate sufficient profits to justify the scale of investments.Volatility across other asset classes showed signs of easing after recent sharp swings. Bitcoin slipped below $69,000 after briefly crossing $71,000 over the weekend, having dropped close to $60,000 last week, more than halfway below its record high hit in October.Gold rose 1.2 per cent to move back above $5,000 per ounce, continuing sharp price swings after roughly doubling over the past year. Silver also advanced 3 per cent, extending its volatile trading pattern.Among stocks, Kroger gained 6.1 per cent after appointing a former Walmart executive as its new chief executive officer. Workday fell 5.9 per cent after announcing CEO Carl Eschenbach would step down, with co-founder Aneel Bhusri set to return to the role.Transocean slipped 1 per cent after announcing plans to acquire Valaris in an all-stock deal valued at $5.8 billion, while Valaris shares surged 22.3 per cent.In bond markets, US Treasury yields remained largely steady ahead of key economic data due later this week, including monthly jobs data on Wednesday and consumer inflation data on Friday. Both reports are expected to shape expectations around the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.The Fed has paused rate cuts for now, but a weaker labour market could accelerate easing, while persistently high inflation could delay further rate reductions.The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.22 per cent.Across global markets, Asian equities rallied strongly, led by Japan. South Korea’s Kospi surged 4.1 per cent, while Hong Kong rose 1.8 per cent and Shanghai gained 1.4 per cent. European markets, however, traded mixed with modest movements.
