Wall Street stocks were in the red at the bell on Monday, with bank stocks, in particular, under pressure in early trading.
As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28% at 32,979.03, while the S&P 500 was 0.55% weaker at 3,952.73 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 0.76% softer at 13,038.60.
The Dow opened 93.85 points lower, taking a small bite out of gains recorded on Friday after a rush of broad-based buying in the dying minutes of trading.
However, market participants prepped for increased volatility during the Easter holiday-shortened week on Monday, with quarter-end rebalancing among pension funds and other big investors as still elevated bond yields were seen as setting up money managers to make large adjustments to their portfolios.
Wall Street traders were also holding out until Wednesday for an update from Joe Biden on his infrastructure plan, said to cost more than $3.0trn, after White House press secretary Jen Psaki said over the weekend that the President intends to roll out two packages over the coming months – the first covering infrastructure and the second health and family care.
On the macro front, March’s Dallas Fed manufacturing index surged 28 points to 48.0, its highest reading in the survey’s 17-year history, as perceptions of broader business conditions improved markedly throughout the month.
Still to come, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis director of research Christoper Waller will deliver a speech at 1600 GMT.
In the corporate space, Credit Suisse shares were down double-digits after warnings that its first-quarter results would take a “significant” hit on the back of exiting hedge fund positions related to last week’s Archegos-linked forced selling. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were also lower.
