Tue May 20 17:30:00 UTC 2025: **Stocks Show Resilience After Moody’s Downgrade, Shrug Off Tariff Worries**

**NEW YORK** – US stocks closed mostly higher Monday, demonstrating surprising resilience in the face of Moody’s recent downgrade of the US government’s credit rating and ongoing trade tensions. While initial reactions to the downgrade were negative, the market rebounded, with investors largely dismissing the long-term impact.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3%, while the S&P 500 managed a slight gain to extend its 5-day win streak. The Nasdaq Composite also closed marginally higher. This positive performance came despite Moody’s lowering the US long-term credit rating from AAA to AA1 late Friday, citing concerns over escalating deficits and rising debt refinancing costs.

Bond yields, after initially spiking in response to the news, eased back from session highs. The 10-year Treasury yield had approached 4.5%, and the 30-year yield briefly surpassed 5% – a level unseen since late 2023 – before declining.

Trade policy remained a focal point. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries must negotiate trade deals “in good faith” during the current 90-day pause in tariff increases, or face a return to previous tariff levels. President Trump also took aim at Walmart on social media, urging the retailer to absorb the cost of tariffs.

In other news, cryptocurrency platform Coinbase joined the S&P 500, while Bitcoin surged, briefly surpassing $105,000. Concerns over an AI deal between Apple and Alibaba in China weighed on both companies’ stock prices. Novavax stock surged following FDA approval of its COVID-19 vaccine for adults and people over 12 with health conditions that put them at risk from COVID.

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