Moody's downgraded the U.S. sovereign rating from 'Aaa' to 'Aa1', sparking concerns over the increasing national debt. This development influenced U.S. stock index futures and Treasury yields, further affecting the market as major stocks trended lower.

Moody's on Friday downgraded the credit rating of the United States by a notch to "Aa1" from "Aaa", citing rising debt and interest "that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns". "Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,

Moody's has joined the two other rating agencies in determining that the US is no longer fit to hold a AAA credit score.