Stocks and Dollar Drift as US Shifts Tariff Goal Posts, Oil Skids

Bull statues are placed in font of screens showing the Hang Seng stock index and stock prices outside Exchange Square, in Hong Kong, China, August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Stocks edged downwards and the dollar drifted near multi-year lows on Monday, after US officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide specifics on the changes, while oil prices slid as OPEC opened the supply spigots more than expected.

Investors have grown somewhat used to the uncertainty surrounding US trade policy and the initial market reaction was cautious.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.44 per cent and NASDAQ futures were down 0.6 per cent in early European trading hours.

Europe’s benchmark STOXX index was down just 0.02 per cent, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.6 per cent.