Wall Street Stumbles Amid Fed Independence Concerns

Wall Street opened lower as the Trump administration renewed criticism of the Federal Reserve, causing concerns about its independence. Financial stocks faced additional pressure from a proposed cap on credit-card interest rates. Major indexes, including the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq, all reported declines at the start of trading.

Wall Street's main indexes saw a dip at the beginning of the week, driven by the Trump administration's fresh assault on the Federal Reserve, sparking doubts over the central bank's independence.

Concerns were further fueled by the proposal of a one-year cap on credit-card interest rates, which took a toll on financial stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped slightly by 4.4 points to open at 49499.67, the S&P 500 decreased by 22.2 points to 6944.12, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 94.5 points to 23576.877.

(With inputs from agencies.)