Investing.com - U.S. stock markets were mildly lower after the open on Monday, as investors looked ahead to key U.S. economic data later in the day to gauge the strength of the economy and for further indications on the future course of monetary policy.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.1%.
The U.S. Institute of Supply Management is to produce data on manufacturing activity for January shortly after the open.
U.S. markets were given a negative lead from Europe and Asia after data showed that China's official non-manufacturing PMI slipped to its lowest level since December 2008 in January, falling to 53.4 from 54.6 in December.
The deterioration in the services sector adds to declining manufacturing PMIs. Data released over the weekend showed that China’s official manufacturing PMI fell to a six-month low of 50.5 in January from 51.0 in December.
Meanwhile, market players continued to monitor liquidity conditions in emerging markets, such as Turkey and South Africa.
Emerging markets economies have been hard hit in recent sessions by worries over the impact of cuts in Federal Reserve stimulus and concerns over a slowdown in China.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.25%, Germany's DAX slumped 0.3%, while Britain's FTSE 100 inched down 0.1%.
Asian stock markets fell sharply on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ending down 2%. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Nikkei is down over 10% since hitting a six-year peak of 16,320 on December 30, placing the index in technical correction territory.