US open: Stocks skid on debt ceiling concerns
Wall Street was adding to the previous day's losses on Wednesday as debt ceiling negotiations between the Republicans and the White House failed to make any progress, with talks due to resume later in the day.
In the background, U.S. Treasury chief, Janet Yellen, said that it was "almost certain" that the Treasury would run out of resources in early June.
At 1531 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.6% or 198.46 points at 32,856.26, while the S&P 500 was off by 0.79% or 32.79 points at 4,113.09.
The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile was falling 1.0% to 12,436.0.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy need to find compromise on taxes and spending but are conscious any deal needs also to garner the support of congressional colleagues to pass.
"A wait and see mood is also set to prevail before the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s May meeting are published, with investors eager to assess the latest thinking of policymakers when it comes to interest rates, and whether a pause or another hike is more likely. While the door is clearly open to a pause, it’s by no means locked in and Tuesday’s PMI showing a more buoyant private sector than forecast, is raising some concerns that another hike could be in store in the months to come."
The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting in May were scheduled for release at 1900 BST.
Given the reported divergences among policymakers on how to proceed, the minutes were likely to be scrutinised for hints regarding the outlook for policy.
In corporate news, Kohl’s shares were swimming against the tide after the department store operator posted a surprise quarterly profit and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
Fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitter's shares were trading 3% higher alongside on the back of its own quarterly results.
Shares of Boeing on the other hand were under pressure, after its chief executive officer cautioned at the Qatar Economic Forum that the supply chain constraints facing the aerospace industry could last "a very long time".
Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia was scheduled to release its first quarter results after the close of trading in New York.
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $482.11 0.56%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $113.52 0.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $286.57 0.07%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $206.75 0.05%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $224.31 -0.06%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $156.62 -0.12%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $156.63 -0.14%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $171.26 -0.17%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $314.39 -0.28%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.97 -1.99%
3M Co. (MMM) $98.80 -1.89%
Visa Inc. (V) $220.83 -1.67%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.03 -1.63%
Boeing Co. (BA) $199.40 -1.58%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $126.17 -1.57%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $88.50 -1.48%
American Express Co. (AXP) $150.43 -1.40%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $209.82 -1.36%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $291.00 -1.34%
S&P 500 - Risers
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $21.10 9.50%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $29.86 3.43%
Macy's Inc. (M) $15.21 2.98%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $31.53 2.49%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $362.70 1.88%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $927.08 1.65%
Kroger Co. (KR) $49.61 1.04%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $102.93 1.03%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $51.99 0.95%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $15.92 0.95%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $114.71 -10.82%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $173.03 -7.92%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $420.07 -6.61%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.18 -6.44%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $10.43 -5.53%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $20.81 -5.08%
Waters Corp. (WAT) $253.09 -4.82%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $73.90 -4.80%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $13.89 -4.03%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $6.54 -3.96%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $362.70 1.88%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $927.08 1.65%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.93 1.52%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $102.93 1.03%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $122.90 0.73%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $115.66 0.58%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $193.73 0.45%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $136.31 0.39%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $78.80 0.28%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $247.16 0.17%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $173.03 -7.92%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $420.07 -6.61%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.18 -6.44%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $73.90 -4.80%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $178.79 -3.76%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.85 -3.40%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.63 -3.12%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $120.93 -2.86%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $98.43 -2.38%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $167.48 -2.37%