US open: Stocks book mild losses in directionless markets

US stock indices booked mild losses on Wednesday amid a lack of clear direction and little in the way of economic data to inspire investors.

At 1424 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 17,989 while the S&P500 index lost 0.1% to 2092.7. The tech-rich Nasdaq 100 underperformed peers, dropping 0.4% to 4417.9.

Deal activity offered markets some inspiration however. Kraft Foods Group shares surged 33% after a merger was announced with H.J. Heinz Company.

So far this week however, major indices have produced losses of just over 0.5% with Tuesday triggering the bigger falls after consumer prices and other data suggested to some that a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike could come sooner rather than later.

In Wednesday’s economic news, orders for durable US goods fell in February, suggesting businesses remain reluctant to invest in a more aggressive manner.

Separately, data showed US mortgage applications had their biggest jump since January last week, climbing 9.5% in the week to March 20.

Elsewhere, Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Federal Reserve, speaking to press after a speech in London, warned that global uncertainty is the biggest risk to the U.S. economy, advocating interest rates stay low until 2016.

The US dollar fell 0.4% against its major peers, pausing for breath from its recent run after Tuesday’s inflation data. At the same time, better than expected German business confidence data kicked up the euro currency, sealing the underperformance of the greenback versus the 17-nation bloc currency.

In other asset classes, oil recovered with Nymex crude futures surging 1.9% to trade at $48.22 per barrel. Gold meanwhile added 0.6% to trade at $1198.7 per troy ounce.