U.S. stocks open lower with S&P 500 on track for fifth consecutive decline
U.S. stocks
opened in the red territory on Tuesday with the benchmark S&P 500 on track to post
its fifth day of declines.
A steep fall on Monday followed a modest recovery as investors continue to reflect on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike borrowing costs in December.
At the beginning of the session, the S&P 500 was 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,075. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 36 points, or 0.2%, to 17,696. The Nasdaq Composite began the day down 23 points, or 0.5%, at 5,072.
Earlier, data showed that U.S. imports declined more than expected last month, as costs of petroleum and a series of
goods declined, a sign that a firm dollar and soft global demand
continued to exert downward pressure on imported inflation.
Strong greenback and a steep decline in oil prices have weighed on inflation, which is still below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.
However, analysts generally agree that weak inflation pressures will hardly prevent the U.S. central bank from raising interest rates next month after job growth surged in October and the unemployment rate fell to 7-1/2-year lows of 5.0 percent.
Fed policy-makers are now given confidence that inflation will gradually move toward its target, since the labor market is tightening.
