When the going gets tough, the tough may sometimes does not get it going.
The energy sector-heavy index S&P 500 retreated on Monday trading after the benchmark logged to its worst performance so far in 2017 as uncertainties surrounding the upcoming President Donald J. Trump policies spooked investors.
Honeymoon is Over
With six out of its 11 main sectors in the negative territory, the S&P 500 gave up 6.11 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 2 265.20 as its energy and industrial companies contributed major losses.
Earlier in the session, the index slipped as much as 0.6%, down 14 points, its worst session of the year, brought up by the growing concerns in protectionist stance of the new US President and the slump in oil prices due to rising production in the country.
Analysts believed that the continuous declines in major US bourses suggest that the post-election honeymoon is over, where stock indices experienced major upsurge and new record highs after the real estate tycoon won over the Dominican nominee Hillary Clinton.
Investors applied a cautious approach in the last trading days as fears on Trump’s anti-free trade acts may hurt major US companies.
On Monday morning, Trump broke up with the country’s Asian economic allies on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and is also expected to renegotiate the North American Free Trade involving Mexico and Canada.
In other news, the West Texas Intermediate lost 47 cents, or 0.9% at $52.75 per barrel while the Brent crude futures gave up 26 cents, or 0.5% at $55.23 per barrel, which gave energy sectors in the broader index a big burden.