US stocks declined on Tuesday ahead of a slew of economic data and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony.
At 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 182 points, or 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 was 0.5 per cent lower, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9 per cent lower.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82.85 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 38,906.98. The S&P 500 opened lower by 20.43 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 5,110.52, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 129.77 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 16,077.74.
Data on US non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate for February will be released on March 8.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is due to testify before the US lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday.
Shares of Apple tanked 2.4 per cent on worries about sluggish iPhone sales in China.
MicroStrategy fell 2.6 per cent after it said it will raise $600 million in debt.
Outperforming the markets, Target climbed 11.7 per cent after it reported strong profit.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.15 per cent from 4.22 per cent late on Monday.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1 per cent at 7,646.34 points. France’s CAC 40 was flat at 7,959.76. Germany’s DAX fell 0.1 per cent at 17,703.36.
Euro Stoxx 50 declined 0.2 per cent at 4,905.51.
Asian stock markets faltered on Tuesday after China set a economic growth target of 5 per cent for 2024, in line with last year.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 2.6 per cent at 16,162.64. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 per cent at 3,047.79.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat at 40,097.63.
Oil prices were steady on Tuesday after falling in the previous session. Brent crude was up 8 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $82.88 a barrel by 1040 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 6 cents to $78.68.
Gold prices hit all-time high on Tuesday. Spot gold advanced to $2,141.79 per ounce, surpassing its prior peak of $2,135.39 in early December.
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