US open: Stocks lower as traders look ahead to inflation data

Wall Street stocks were in the red early on Monday as traders looked ahead to all-important inflation readings later in the week.

As of 1550 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.22% at 38,638.15, while the S&P 500 lost 0.26% to 5,110.36 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.22% weaker at 16,049.71.

The Dow opened 84.54 points lower on Monday, extending losses recorded in the blue-chip's worst week since October 2023.

Market participants were bracing themselves for February's consumer and producer price index readings, due out on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, some of the last major macro figures before the Federal Reserve meets for their next monetary policy meeting.

In the corporate space, Facebook parent company Meta traded lower at the open after former president Donald Trump branded the firm an "enemy of the people", while shares in pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and information technology outfit Super Micro Computer also headed south.

No major data points were scheduled for release on Monday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com