Stocks, dollar drop after US loses last triple-A credit rating

US stocks fell with the dollar on Monday as markets reacted to the United States losing its last gold-standard sovereign bond rating over a debt pile that could balloon further. The downgrade by Moody’s dealt a blow to markets, which had enjoyed a healthy run-up last week after Washington and China reached a deal to temporarily slash tit-for-tat tariffs. US stocks were down in midday trading, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which fell around half a percent. That mirrored losses in Asia, where Tokyo and Hong Kong closed down. In Europe, London and Frankfurt erased early losses to close higher after UK and EU leaders reached a series of defence and trade ties at a landmark summit, the first since Britain’s acrimonious exit from the European Union. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said leaders had agreed a “win-win” deal that his office said would add nearly 9 billion ($12 billion) to the British economy by 2040. The euro powered ahead despite the EU cutting its 2025 growth forecast for the eurozone, blaming US tariffs.