US stocks open lower amid impeachment talks

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indexes in the US stock markets opened lower Monday to kick off the new week on a weak note as investors have been taking advantage of record-high levels by taking profit against potential risks.

The Dow Jones was down 131 points, or 0.42%, to 30,966 points at 10.08 a.m. EDT (1508GMT) and the S&P 500 was down 20 points, or 0.53%, to 3,804 points.

The Nasdaq was down 104 points, or 0.79%, to 13,097 points with Twitter plummeting 7% and Tesla retreating from its all-time high with a 4% loss.

After posting major declines on Friday, precious metals remained weak on Monday with gold trading around $1,845 per ounce with a 0.2% decline and silver around $25.1 an ounce with 1.5% decrease.

Investors are focused on key political developments in Washington, D.C. amid potential risks and uncertainty after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democratic members of the lower chamber are planning to pass a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to oust President Donald Trump.

"Next, we will proceed with bringing impeachment legislation to the Floor," Pelosi wrote in a letter to her colleagues on Sunday.

Investors have also long been expecting a higher stimulus from Democrats and President-elect Joe Biden who told reporters Friday that he would again seek to raise amount of checks for most Americans to $2,000 from $600 when he takes office on Jan. 20.

The world's largest economy shed 140,000 jobs in December, its first monthly decline in eight months, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit new highs in deaths and daily cases, and poses danger to the economic recovery.

The US has still led the world with a total of 22.4 million cases and more than 374,000 deaths as of Monday, according to latest data from Johns Hopkins University.