US open: Stocks head south as rotation out of tech stocks continues

As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.03% at 34,384.86, while the S&P 500 was 0.97% softer at 4,147.96 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 1.01% weaker at 13,267.11.

The Dow opened 357.96 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded on Monday as last week's ransomware attack on a major US fuel pipeline and a rotation out of growth stocks both dominated headlines.

In focus at the open, big tech stocks were again in the red, with shares in Facebook, Apple and Amazon all moving lower in early trading, while Tesla shares slumped following a report from Reuters that claimed the electric carmaker had halted plans to expand its Shanghai plant into an export hub.

Elsewhere in the corporate space, Hanesbrands said first-quarter net sales had shot up 25% to $1.51bn on the back of double-digit growth in both its global innerwear and activewear businesses, while Electronic Arts and Chesapeake Energy will publish their latest quarterly report cards later in the day.

On the macro front, both small and large US businesses moved to increase wages and benefits as part of an effort to attract workers amid rising demand for their goods and services, according to the National Federation of Independent Business' small-business optimism, which index advanced 1.6 points in April to a pandemic-era high of 99.8. However, the reading was one point shy of the 100.8 print expected by the Street.

Elsewhere, March's JOLTs job openings report came in ahead of expectations for a print of 7.5m at 8.12m, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hires were little changed at 6.0m, as were total separations at 5.3m. The layoffs and discharges rate decreased to a series low of 1.0%.

Still to come, a veritable array of Federal Reserve speeches will also take place throughout the course of the day, with John Williams, Lael Brainard, Mary Daly, Raphael Bostic and Patrick Harker all set to deliver comments on Tuesday.