Major US equity indices opened slightly lower on the last trading day of the week as investors turned cautious ahead of trade tensions expected at the G7 summit.
The US President Donald Trump is expected to face backlash over his decision to impose hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium imports at the key G7 summit in Canada. The conflict might cause a deep diplomatic split between the major allies and increase the risk of a full-blown global trade war.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to leave the summer early and head towards Singapore for his scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday.
Moreover, investors’ also seemed to refrain from placing aggressive bets ahead of the forthcoming two-day FOMC meeting next week, where the central bank is widely expected to hike interest rates.
In a relatively quiet day for economic data, broader market risk sentiment was solely driven by escalating global trade tensions, which have spooked global financial markets on-and-off since March.
As of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 30-points to 25,215 and the broader S&P 500 Index was down over 4-points to 2,766. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index underperformed the markets and lost nearly 30-points, back closer to the 7,600 round figure mark.
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