- US stocks fell on Monday as traders took in Moody's outlook for the US credit rating.
- The agency downgraded its outlook from "stable" to "negative" as concerns over the US debt build.
US stocks fell on Monday as investors took in Moody's US credit rating outlook and looked ahead to fresh inflation data coming out on Tuesday.
On Friday, Moody's Investors Service cut its outlook for the US credit rating from "stable" to "negative," signaling that a downgrade to the current AAA rating is possible.
"In the context of higher interest rates, without effective fiscal policy measures to reduce government spending or increase revenues, Moody's expects that the US' fiscal deficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability," the ratings agency said. "Continued political polarization within US Congress raises the risk that successive governments will not be able to reach consensus on a fiscal plan to slow the decline in debt affordability."
Investors also have their eye on the upcoming consumer price index for October, which will roll out Tuesday morning. Headline inflation is expected to have slowed to 3.28% year over year, from September's pace of 3.7%.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: 4,403.34, down 0.27%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,231.26, down 0.15% (51.84 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,744.07, down 0.39%
Here's what else is going on today:
- Elon Musk's SpaceX will be worth half a trillion dollars by 2030, according to billionaire investor Ron Baron.
- Warren Buffett should have invested in Tesla when it was worth just 0.1% as much, Elon Musk said.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged higher 0.10% to $77.25 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, ticked up 0.05% to $81.48 a barrel.
- Gold slipped 0.17% to $1,933.83 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield rose five basis points to 4.678%.
- Bitcoin dipped 0.76% to $36,869.