US stock exchanges exhibited a lack of clear direction at the start of the week. Although the Dow closed 0.3 percent higher at 53,417 points, the technology-focused Nasdaq saw the hundred most important stocks decline by about one percent, reaching an index level of 29,023. Furthermore, the broader S&P 500 finished 0.3 percent lower at 7,653 points compared to Friday.
Concerns on Wall Street were driven by a sell-off in chip manufacturers, with both Intel and Nvidia losing around three percent. The situation was even worse for some semiconductor companies, as Micron Technology, Sandisk, and Seagate all dropped by around six points.
In related news, US government bond yields retreated. This comes after reports suggested that the Treasury department might be developing a new strategy for funding a buyback program.
Regarding global markets, the European common currency weakened slightly on Monday evening, with the Euro trading at $1.1663 per US dollar, meaning the dollar was available for 0.8574 Euros.
Gold posted a significant gain; a fine ounce was traded at $4,651 in the evening (+1 percent), equating to €128.21 per gram.
Conversely, the oil price fell sharply. At approximately 10 p.m. German time on Monday, a barrel of North Sea Brent crude cost $92.02, which was 237 cents or 2.5 percent less than the close of the previous trading day.
