US Stock Markets Today: Dow Jones Slumps 0.48% At Opening Bell; S&P 500, Nasdaq Also Edge Lower
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 0.48% to open at 42,183.81.
All the three main Wall Street indices opened in the red on Tuesday, as S&P 500 was down 0.25% at 5,803.70 points at the opening bell and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.24% to 18,522.83.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.48% lower at 42,183.81.
Among major stocks, Cisco Systems Inc. was up 1.33%, Salesforce Inc. 1.14% and Boeing Co. 1.06%. Among the companies that slipped in early trade were Home Depot Inc., which declined 1.8% and Coca-Cola Co. which was down 1.02%.
Among the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices, five were trading higher, whereas six slipped against the previous day's close. The gains were led by communication and financials, whereas utilities and consumer discretionary sectors were among the drags.
“Major market trends remain higher,” said Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, told Bloomberg. “Expect elevated volatility due to election and earnings uncertainty. Add to positions on weakness and pullbacks to support.”
The Bloomberg dollar spot index advanced 0.04% after the US markets opened. The British pound was little changed at $1.2973, whereas the Euro fell 0.3% to $1.0779 against the greenback.
Bitcoin, the world's largest traded cryptocurrency, jumped 2.2% to $71,131.79. It surged past $71,000 for the first time since June, driven by inflows into specialised exchange-traded funds and speculation surrounding the upcoming US election.
In the commodities market, gold continued to surge, with spot gold trading 0.87% higher at $2,766.24 an ounce. On the COMEX, US gold futures rose 0.07% to $2,742.90 per ounce.
Crude oil prices, however, slipped with Brent trading 6.09% lower at $71.42 per barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 6.13% at $67.38 an ounce.
Before the US market opened, its Asian peers settled on a high note. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 0.49%, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.77% higher, and India's NSE Nifty 50 settled with 0.52% gains.
