US open: Stocks head south as trade worries persist

US stocks headed south soon after the opening bell as the uncertainty surrounding a possible trade deal between the world's two largest economies and threats of new tariffs on European goods dampened optimism.

As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 26,678.61, while the S&P 500 had lost a modest 0.02% at 2,963.85 and the Nasdaq Composite opened 0.07% weaker at 8,085.78.

The Dow opened 38.82 points softer on Tuesday after Wall Street stocks finished in the green on the first day of July as participants digested news out of China, Japan and North Korea over the weekend.

Donald Trump stated on Monday evening that any trade deal with Beijing would have to be "somewhat tilted" in favour of Washington.

While sentiment was helped somewhat by the news at the weekend that Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had agreed to a ceasefire in the trade war, market participants turned a touch more cautious ahead of the bell on Tuesday as they waited on actual signs of progress in settling the dispute that had battered global trade, business sentiment and economic growth.

And on Tuesday, the White House also threatened to slap tariffs on an additional $4bn-worth of exports from the European Union as part of a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies given to US aerospace giant Boeing and its European rival, Airbus.

The US Trade Representative's office presented a list of potential targets — including olives, Italian cheese and Scotch whiskey.

On the data front, there were no big data points scheduled for Tuesday but Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester was expected to focus on the current state of the US economy in London at 1600 BST.

In corporate news, Delta Airlines shares flew 1.47% higher after revealing its load factor had risen 90.4% throughout June, while Dish Network shares picked up 1.78% after striking a divestiture deal with T-Mobile.

Fiat Chrysler shares dipped 0.07% despite posting its best June retail sales in 14 years, while Nvidia dipped 1.13% after revealing it will release three new Turing-based cards later this month.

Elsewhere, oil prices were in the red after OPEC extended production cuts until March 2020 following a meeting in Vienna a day earlier.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak revealed on Tuesday that non-OPEC producers had agreed to a nine-month rollover of supply cuts, ratifying a policy designed to prop up oil prices amid a weakening global economy.

As of 1530 BST, West Texas Intermediate was down 1.64% at $58.12 a barrel, while Brent Crude was changing hands at $64.25 per barrel - a 1.25% drop.