The U.S. stocks fared low on Monday morning as they opened in the backdrop of Moody’s Ratings downed America’s credit rating from the top notch AAA to AA1 in a reminder of the mounting debt issues facing the country.
Before midday the S&P 500 declined by 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 55 points, while Nasdaq composite slid 0.6% lower.
Moody’s Ratings is the third major credit-rating agency to strip the U.S. of the top credit ranking.
U.S. Fitch Ratings downgraded America’s credit rating to AA+ from AAA in 2023 while Standard & Poor’s downgraded Washington’s credit rating in 2011.
Analysts have long worried about the United States’ inability to check spending, reduce the budget deficit and lower the borrowing amid deep political divisions.
Besides debt, U.S. trade wars, which last week eased after Washington and Beijing stepped back from levying high trade tariffs and President Trump’s ambitious bill on cutting taxes are also impacting the economic prospects.
The news also impacted the performance of Asian and European stocks.
This is a developing story, being updated.
