Stocks end mostly lower amid DOJ turmoil, trade escalations

A
trader reacts as he watches screens on the floor of the New York
Stock Exchange in New York
Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Stocks were mostly lower Monday as trade escalations between the
US and China and turmoil in the Justice Department rattled
markets, days after the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P
500 had hit record highs. The dollar was mostly
unchanged against a basket of peers, and Treasury yields
jumped. 

Here’s the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial
average: 26,561.64 −181.86
(0.68%)

S&P
500: 2,919.89 −9.78 (0.33%)

Nasdaq
Composite: 7,993.25 +6.29
(0.079%)

1. Chaos in Washington has Wall Street on edge.
   Axios reports Deputy Attorney
   General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller
   investigation, is considering resigning after he was said to
   have discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President
   Donald Trump from office. Following the explosive report, White
   House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said
   Rosenstein will meet with the president on Thursday. 
2. World leaders meet at the United Nations General
   Assembly. All eyes are on Trump, who will give a
   general address and later lead a nonproliferation
   meeting. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
   said it’s
   “very likely” there will be sideline talks on a North
   American trade agreement, which Trump has threatened to exclude
   Canada from. 
3. The US and China enacted another round of tariffs on
   each other. China, retaliating against the Trump
   administration, accused the US of “trade
   bullyism” and cancelled talks proposed by Treasury
   Secretary Steve Mnuchin. The escalations raised fears a trade
   war between the world’s largest economies could
   drag on for years. 

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its benchmark
  interest rate.
• The US reports on final GDP, trade, and manufacturing
  activity. 
• The EU and the US hold high-level trade talks in New
  York. 
• The Conference Board releases its latest consumer confidence
  reading.