US open: Stocks lower amid heightened tensions in the Middle East

dl wall street wall st new york city new york stock exchange nyse dow jones nasdaq street sign nyc united states usa america pb — Sharecast / Alessandro D Andrea via Pixabay

Major indices were in the red early on Wednesday as Q4 trading began with losses amid renewed fears of a full-scale ground war in the Middle East.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.10% at 42,113.27, while the S&P 500 lost 0.20% to 5,697.59 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.25% firmer at 17,865.06.

The Dow opened 43.70 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Oil prices were in focus early on Wednesday, continuing to climb as worries mounted that conflict was set to spread across the Middle East following Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon and Iran's missile attack on Israel led to renewed fears that the region was on course for full-scale regional conflict. International benchmark Brent crude was up 3.09% at $75.83 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was trading 3.45% higher at $72.24.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention, private sector employment in the US rose more than expected in September, according to figures released on Wednesday by ADP. Employment increased by 143,000 from August, versus expectations for a 125,000 jump. Meanwhile, August's gain was revised to 103,000 from 99,000. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees shed 8,000 jobs, while medium businesses with between 50 and 499 employees added 64,000 jobs and large businesses with more than 500 employees created 86,000 jobs.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 1.3% week-on-week in the seven days ended 27 September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the first drop in more than a month. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 3% but remained 186% higher than at the same time a year earlier, while applications to purchase a home ticked up 1% week-on-week

In the corporate space, Nike shares were down after the footwear giant withdraw its full-year guidance, while Tesla shares headed south on the back of delivery numbers that fell short of expectations.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.01 3.51%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $275.60 1.75%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $593.26 1.71%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $151.98 1.52%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $208.77 0.84%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.91 0.68%
American Express Co. (AXP) $270.42 0.68%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $492.90 0.56%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.40 0.37%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.75 0.29%