NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks finished slightly lower Monday as the new US President Donald Trump signaled he would take a tough line on international trade.
Trump’s first order of business Monday was to sign an executive order officially withdrawing from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump also has also announced plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
US stocks rallied hard after Trump’s surprise election win in the hopes he would lower taxes and reduce regulation, a promise he renewed on Monday. But markets have been worried the tough talk could lead to a trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 percent to close at 19,799.85.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 2,265.20, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 5,552.94.
