The key US stock markets were weaker overnight, with the bond market on hold for Columbus Day.
All three benchmarks fell led by the Dow Jones, down 0.7%, as oil price rises continue to bite.
The S&P 500 similarly dropped 0.7% while the Nasdaq fared slightly better, falling 0.6% with investors waiting for earnings season to commence to get an understanding of how the economic recovery is progressing.
Featured: How to invest in US companies ft. Danielle Ecuyer
Merck seeks FDA approval, Southwest Airlines grounded
Shares in Merck (NYSE: MRK) finished 0.9% lower despite submitting an application for its COVID-19 treatment pill following completion of a stage three trial that reduced hospitalisation risk by as much as 50%.
A changing of the guard is occurring at private equity giant KKR & Co, with the original founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts stepping down amid the biggest bull market for private equity in decades.
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) fell over 4% after cancelling over 2,000 flights over the weekend, hit by poor weather, staff issues and capacity.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks started the week on Monday.
- CoinBase (NASDAQ: COIN) up 3.4%
- Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) up 3.3%
- Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) up 0.8%
- Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) down 1.4%
- MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) down 3.4%
- Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) down 4.6%
Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to follow this negative lead from US markets to open lower on Tuesday. For a round-up of the latest news, check out my ASX 200 morning report.