US close: Nasdaq enters correction territory as Justice Department probe batters tech stocks

Wall Street stocks kicked off June in much the same fashion they wrapped up May - with losses - as investors still fretting on multiple fronts as a result of the US administration's trade offensive, a new Justice Department antitrust probe and the deepening inversion of the Treasury yield curve.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average did manage to eke out a small 0.02% gain to 24,819.78, but the S&P 500 was down 0.28% at 2,744.29 and the Nasdaq, battered by a tech rout earlier in the session, closed 1.61% weaker at 7,333.02.

The Dow closed just four points firmer on Monday after tumbling by more than 350 points to round out the month on Friday after the President announced he would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports starting from 10 June.

The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite entered correction territory after investors grew worried about stricter regulations being slapped on the likes of Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

The heightened tensions between the US and China were on display again over the weekend as the two countries clashed over trade, technology and security matters.

A senior Chinese official and trade negotiator said on Sunday that the White House would not be able to pressure the Asian superpower into a trade deal.

Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen also refused to reveal whether or not the leaders of both countries would attempt to work out an agreement at the G20 summit later in the month.

Wang added: "The US has backtracked, and when you give them an inch, they want a yard."

His remarks came before the start of the US president's three-day state visit to the UK on Monday, a day after throwing his support behind outspoken eurosceptic Nigel Farage. Trump praised Farage, a vocal supporter of a no-deal Brexit, saying the country should be prepared to crash out of the EU on 31 October.

The benchmark 10-year treasury yield deepened its inversion against the shorter-dated 3-month treasury bill on Monday.

Gold prices climbed to their highest point since late March, breaking above $1,320.

An inversion of the yield curve has preceded the past seven recessions.

In terms of corporate news, Cypress Semiconductor shares closed 23.85% higher after news broke that it would be acquired by German chipmaker Infineon Technologies for an enterprise value of €9.0bn.

FedEx shares closed 1.25% lower following accusations from Chinese officials that it had deliberately rerouted packages bound for Huawei's offices in China.

Alphabet shares lost 6.12% during the session after reports revealed the Justice Department was preparing to launch an antitrust probe into Google. Facebook shares also closed 7.51% weaker as the news sparked fears the social media company could also be hit with tougher regulations.

On the data front, IHS Markit's US manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.5 in May, which was down from a reading of 52.6 for April and reached its lowest level since September 2009, as output growth eased and new orders fell for the first time since August of that same year.

Weak demand conditions and ongoing trade tensions also led firms to express the joint-lowest degree of confidence regarding future output growth since data on the outlook were first collected in mid-2012, the survey compiler said.

Elsewhere, factory sector activity in the States cooled by a tad more than expected last month, amid widespread concern over the impact of trade tariffs, falling order backlogs and output, according to rival manufacturing sector PMI from the Institute for Supply Management, although sentiment was still described as "predominantly positive".

The ISM's manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index jumped slipped from a reading of 52.8 in April to 51.2 for May, coming in below the consensus forecast for a print of 53.0.

Lastly, US construction spending was unchanged in April as homebuilding fell.

The Commerce Department's flat reading on outlays for construction followed a small increase of 0.1% in March, which was revised higher after an initial estimate had indicated a sharp decline, suggesting Americans had cut back on home renovations throughout the month.

In Fed action, St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Monday that a rate cut "may be warranted soon" given the risks of rising trade tensions.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $49.90 1.13%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $49.77 1.06%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $80.26 0.73%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $146.38 0.45%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $41.97 0.17%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $115.53 0.13%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.51 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $131.91 -0.22%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $131.77 -0.26%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $101.74 -0.45%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $336.74 -3.75%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $119.63 -3.27%
Visa Inc. (V) $157.53 -3.21%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $236.85 -2.73%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $182.49 -2.60%
American Express Co. (AXP) $114.22 -2.16%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $126.16 -1.74%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $103.53 -1.71%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $77.98 -1.61%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $119.97 -1.53%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $33.97 8.46%
Cooper Cos Inc. (COO) $301.76 5.35%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $33.50 4.39%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $37.20 3.91%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $87.77 3.88%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $172.83 3.68%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $50.41 3.26%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $80.37 3.22%
Target Corp. (TGT) $82.95 3.18%
Baker Hughes, A Ge Company Class A (BHGE) $21.82 3.07%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Gap Inc. (GPS) $18.77 -8.88%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $51.96 -8.84%
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $34.23 -7.84%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $68.73 -7.77%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $163.84 -7.68%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $144.45 -7.20%
Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS) $74.15 -6.72%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,032.71 -6.67%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,031.10 -6.57%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $23.75 -6.27%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $172.83 3.68%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $63.98 2.78%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $17.19 2.35%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $224.04 2.17%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $28.23 2.08%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $96.95 1.90%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.74 1.42%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $53.31 1.37%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $51.51 1.30%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $42.36 1.22%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Facebook Inc. (FB) $163.84 -7.68%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,032.71 -6.67%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,031.10 -6.57%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $191.24 -6.31%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,679.80 -5.37%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $104.65 -4.65%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $258.41 -4.61%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $17.90 -4.43%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $154.30 -4.11%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $82.56 -3.84%