NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks retreated early Monday as markets eyed civil protests in China over Covid-19 restrictions and awaited major US economic releases later in the week.
People have taken to the streets in major cities across China and gathered at university campuses, in a wave of protests not seen since pro-democracy rallies in 1989 were crushed.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3 percent at 34,230.00.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5 percent to 4,007.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 percent to 11,208.79.
The dynamic is “concerning,” said LBBW’s Karl Haeling.
“Whatever China does is likely to hurt the economy,” he added.
If officials kept lockdowns going, it would hurt activity while reopening could land the country in “a health crisis,” he cautioned.
“Half the population doesn’t like the lockdowns and the other half (of) the population is scared to death of Covid and won’t go out,” Haeling said.
Investors are also watching this week’s calendar in the United States, which includes government releases on November employment, as well as updates on consumer confidence and early holiday shopping trends.
Several top Federal Reserve officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, also have public appearances.
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