US open: Stocks start off Q4 with early losses, manufacturing data in focus

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Wall Street stocks were in the red early on Tuesday as major indices kicked off Q4 trading with losses.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.87% at 41,963.81, while the S&P 500 lost 1.16% to 5,695.47 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.66% weaker at 17,887.13.

The Dow opened 366.34 points lower on Tuesday, easily reversing modest gains recorded in the previous session to cap off an unexpectedly strong September performance.

Tuesday's primary focus was the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index, as market participants tried to gain fresh insight into the state of the US economy amid ongoing fears surrounding a potential US recession. The ISM's manufacturing PMI fell slightly short of expectations for a reading of 47.5 in September at 47.2, continuing to point to a contraction in the manufacturing sector as demand continued to be weak and output fell.

Elsewhere on the macro front, S&P Global's manufacturing PMI was revised slightly higher to 47.3 in September, up from a preliminary reading of 47 but was still the lowest reading seen since June 2023.

On another note, construction spending decreased by 0.10% month-on-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of $2.13trn, according to the Census Bureau, following a revised 0.5% drop in the previous month and missing forecasts for a 0.1% increase.

Finally, job openings rose by 329,000 to 8.04m in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS report, following an upwardly revised reading of 7.71m in July and above market expectations for a print of 7.65m.

Comments from Federal Reserve bankers Raphael Bostic, Lisa Cook, Tom Barkin, and Susan Collins will also draw an amount of attention on Tuesday as traders try to figure out just what the central bank's next move may be before the nation heads to the polls in November.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $148.85 1.08%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $72.34 0.67%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $392.00 0.22%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.01 0.21%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $585.30 0.11%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $234.25 0.06%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $80.79 0.04%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Visa Inc. (V) $274.95 0.00%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $162.00 -0.04%