US open: Stocks start off the week in the red

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were sharply lower early on Monday as market participants awaited key inflation data, the beginning of earnings season and a confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell all scheduled for later in the week.

As of 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.13% at 35,822.24, while the S&P 500 was 1.54% weaker at 4,604.95 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 2.19% softer at 14,608.80.

The Dow opened 409.42 points lower on Monday after ending the previous session little changed as December's all-important non farm payrolls figures came in well and truly short of expectations.

While Monday looked set to be a relatively quiet day in terms of headlines on the Street, investors were looking ahead to the release of the consumer price index on Wednesday, with the index expected to show a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. The producer price index will follow on Thursday.

Also in focus, Powell will testify at his nomination hearing before a Senate panel on Tuesday, with the Fed head potentially providing important information regarding the future of US monetary policy, as was the beginning of earnings season at the tail end of the week, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all set to release their latest set of quarterly results on Friday.

High-growth names continued to struggle at the bell on Monday as interest rates moved higher yet again, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hitting 1.799%, after markets moved to price in a roughly 50% chance the central bank will raise interest rates four times in 2022 - more hawkish than had previously been anticipated.

On the macro front for Monday, wholesale inventories rose to $771.1bn in November, according to the Census Bureau, up 1.4% from October's upwardly revised print of $760.7bn and 15.9% higher year-on-year. Sales were $630.8bn in November, up 1.3% from the previous month and 23.3% year-on-year.

Still to come, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic will deliver a speech at 1700 GMT.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $402.81 1.33%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.29 0.84%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $228.67 0.61%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.54 0.36%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $166.77 0.32%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.40 0.30%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $53.57 0.24%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $459.58 0.21%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%