US open: Stocks trade lower as Treasury yields reverse course

Wall Street stocks opened lower on Tuesday as market participants continued to digest a recession warning from the bond market and the latest headlines in the Ukraine-Russia war.

As of 1545 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.18% at 34,860.42, while the S&P 500 was 0.56% weaker at 4,557.17 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 1.40% softer at 14,328.82.

The Dow opened 61.46 points lower on Tuesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Treasury yields were in focus again at the open on Tuesday, with the two-year yield and its 10-year counterpart reversing course after inverting late last week, while traders also had a keen eye on developments in Eastern Europe, with the war between Ukraine and Russia carrying on and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowing to pursue allegations of war crimes against Moscow, stating that over 300 civilians were killed and tortured in a suburb near the nation's capital of Kyiv.

Oil prices were up again early on Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate futures up 0.40% at $103.69 per barrel and Brent crude gaining 0.24% to $107.79.

The EU revealed it was planning a mandatory phase-out of coal imports from Russia in response to reports about Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The action would be added to measures already ready for debate by EU ambassadors. Details of the plan were under discussion, according people familiar with the proposals told Bloomberg, but the European commission was also expected to propose a ban on most Russian trucks and ships from entering the EU, the report said. Russia supplies about half of Europe's thermal coal used for power stations to generate electricity.

Stocks hit session lows after Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard said the central bank needed to shrink its balance sheet "rapidly" if it were to drive down inflation.

On the macro front, the US trade deficit remained near-record levels of $89.18bn in February, down only a touch from January's print of $89.22bn as imports continued to soar amid demand and rising oil prices. Imports were up 1.3% to a record high level of $317.8bn, while exports rebounded and increased 1.8% to also hit a fresh all-time high of $228.6bn.

Elsewhere, the S&P global US composite PMI was revised lower to 57.7 in March from a preliminary reading of 58.5, but was still up from the 55.9 seen in February, the fastest rate of growth since July 2021 and signaling a sharp expansion in business activity across the private sector.

Finally, last month's ISM non-manufacturing PMI increased to 58.3 in March from 56.5 in February as easing Covid-19 pandemic restrictions somewhat offset rising costs and strained supply chains.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $85.07 1.90%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $519.70 1.90%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $156.44 1.53%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $178.92 1.39%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $152.69 1.09%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $165.92 0.94%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $246.73 0.76%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $182.93 0.61%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.83 0.46%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $130.38 0.08%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $210.64 -3.75%
Boeing Co. (BA) $186.70 -2.34%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $135.96 -1.89%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $217.24 -1.61%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.04 -1.48%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.63 -1.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $134.50 -1.04%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $302.50 -1.01%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $176.83 -0.90%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $43.03 -0.86%