US Stock Markets Today: S&P 500 Opens 0.24% Lower; Nasdaq, Dow Jones Decline

The US stock market opened lower on Monday as focus shifts from the strong employment growth in September to the release of corporate earnings this week.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.15% to open at 42,289.51, whereas the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.32% to open at 18,080.12.

The broader index, S&P 500, stood at 5,737.5 at the opening bell, down 0.24% from the previous session's close. In the early minutes of trading, eight of the 11 sectoral indices were trading in red, with real estate, consumer staples, and healthcare recording sharp declines. The gains were led by energy, financial and communication.

The yield on 10-year Treasury bond jumped by six basis points to 4.02%.

Among major companies, Boeing, General Motors and Chevron were among the early gainers. However, mega-cap entities like Amazon and Microsoft were among those trading in the red.

As the US market opened, spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,646.92 an ounce. Crude oil prices, however, continued to edge upwards with Brent crossing the $79 per barrel-mark as traders await Israel's response to Iranian missile strikes last week.

The US dollar held ground against major currencies. The Bloomberg Dollar Index was little changed, while the British Pound fell 0.33% against the greenback and the Swiss Franc declined by 0.5%.

Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency, rose 0.8% to $63,120.38.

Before the US equity market opened, its Asian peers threw a mixed performance. The benchmark indices gained by over 1.5% in Japan and South Korea, but India's Nifty 50 declined by 0.87%. The Chinese bourses were closed due to a public holiday.

On Friday, the Wall Street had settled near session highs as the US stocks and bond yields were buoyed by American employers adding 254,000 jobs in September—the highest in the last six months. The data indicated the resilience of the US economy and boosted its soft-landing hopes.