Stocks Pause, Dollar Declines Following Visa Restrictions and Fed Insights

Global stock markets experienced a moment of stability while the U.S. dollar weakened as investors reacted to recent visa restrictions announced by President Donald Trump. On Friday, Trump stated that U.S. companies would be required to pay $100,000 for new H-1B worker visas, a move that may adversely affect the technology sector, a vital component of the U.S. economy. As the market absorbed this news, attention shifted toward upcoming economic data and statements from Federal Reserve officials.

Market Reactions to Visa News

Following the announcement, India’s benchmark indexes fell, reflecting concerns for the nation’s $283 billion information technology sector, which derives over half of its revenue from U.S. clients. The new visa fees come just a month after Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50 percent, partly in response to India’s purchase of Russian oil.

Wall Street remained largely flat after reaching record highs in the previous week. Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth Management, noted, “It’s not at all unusual to have markets be a little weak this morning coming off of all-time highs across the board last week.” She suggested that the trading week might be volatile as key inflation data is set to be released on Friday, alongside insights from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other officials.

Federal Reserve Insights and Currency Movements

So far, comments from St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem indicated that there may be “limited room” for further rate cuts following last week’s reduction. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic expressed that he does not currently see a need for additional interest rate cuts this year due to ongoing inflation concerns, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Investors remain cautious regarding the implications of Trump’s visa announcement, but some analysts believe that major technology leaders are likely to seek solutions to mitigate the impact. Despite these uncertainties, the S&P 500’s technology sector managed a slight gain.

On Wall Street, all three major indexes opened lower. As of 10:48 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average had decreased by 6.27 points or 0.01 percent to 46,309.00. The S&P 500 rose 9.65 points or 0.14 percent to 6,674.01, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 67.28 points or 0.30 percent to 22,698.20. The MSCI global stock index grew by 1.04 points or 0.11 percent to 982.79.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar index was poised to break a three-day winning streak as investors awaited Fed commentary to better understand the monetary policy outlook after a recent rate cut of 25 basis points. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of others, dropped 0.23 percent to 97.50. The euro gained 0.21 percent to $1.1769, while the dollar weakened by 0.03 percent against the Japanese yen, trading at 147.9.

Elsewhere, Argentina’s international dollar bonds rallied after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned that “all options for stabilization are on the table” to support the nation. More details are expected following a meeting between Argentine President Javier Milei and President Trump on Tuesday in New York.

In terms of U.S. Treasuries, the yield on benchmark 10-year notes fell by 0.4 basis points to 4.135 percent, while the 30-year bond yield rose 0.5 basis points to 4.7615 percent. The yield on the 2-year note, which is closely tied to interest rate expectations, edged up 0.2 basis points to 3.584 percent.

In energy markets, oil prices declined due to concerns over oversupply, despite geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East. U.S. crude fell 0.4 percent to $62.43 a barrel, while Brent crude dropped 0.45 percent to $66.38 per barrel. In contrast, gold prices reached new record highs, driven by investors’ expectations of a dovish rate-cut path. Spot gold increased 0.99 percent to $3,720.18 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose 1.34 percent to $3,720.80 an ounce.