US open: Wall Street equities book losses amid economic growth woes

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.41% to 17,920 while the S&P 500 index is off 0.44% to 2,083 and the Nasdaq 100 is down 0.8% to 4,373.2.

Traders were reacting to the IMF's latest move to reduce its forecast US economic growth this year to 3.1% from 3.6% previously. The estimate for 2016 was also lowered by 20% to 3.1%, according to the World Economic Outlook.

Earlier, traders assessed an improvement in US producer prices, which rose 0.2% on the month thanks to stabilising inflation.

However, data showing the biggest rise in US retail sales in a year was being scrutinised.

Though the March data showed 0.9% jump after Febuary's 0.5% decline, the report from the Commerce Department also revealed that a measure of core retail sales, which excludes cars and gasoline, was revised lower for January and February.

"The 0.9% m/m rebound in retail sales in March would seem to confirm that the coldest winter on record in the Northeast explains much of the weakness in the preceding two months," noted Capital Economics.

Attention was also on earnings. US investment banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co on Tuesday grew profits 12.2% in the first quarter of this year driven by a surprise rebound in the fixed-income trading division.

Meanwhile Wells Fargo reported a drop in first quarter profits though the lender managed to grow revenues by 3% to $21.3bn.

US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson however warned that full-year earnings would miss its earlier targets as the US dollar's sharp rise cut into its results from abroad.

In currency markets, the euro gained against the US dollar, up 1.1% to change hands at $1.0693. Nymex crude futures were up 2% to $51.75 per barrel and gold was on the back foot, down 0.2% to $1196.2 per troy ounce.