Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed on Tuesday, as markets were jittery amid fresh uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its stimulus program before the year end and ongoing U.S. debt worries.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.11%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged up 0.14%.
U.S. stocks remained supported after after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended the central bank’s decision to keep its stimulus program unchanged last week, in comments on Monday.
Dudley said that adjustments to the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program "need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing”.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program.
The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the scale of the bank’s bond buying program.
Separately, U.S. budget talks were to continue this week with the aim of passing a resolution to fund government beyond October 1.
Apple shares climbed 0.45% after the tech giant announced on Monday that sales for its new iPhone had reached a record 9 million units within the first few days of its launch. The company also said there were more than 200 million downloads of its new iOS 7 platform.
Also in the tech sector, BlackBerry retreated 0.79% after saying it will be acquired by Canadian insurance company Fairfax Financial in a deal totaling USD4.7 billion dollars.
Microsoft was also in focus, down 0.75%, after it introduced its next generation Surface tablet at an event in New York City on Monday.
In the financial sector, Citigroup shed 0.87% following a report by the Financial Times saying that a significant drop in the bank's trading revenue during the third quarter could hurt the bank's earnings.
Other U.S. lenders were also trending lower, as JP Morgan tumbled 0.97% and Bank of America declined 0.50%.
Among earnings, Lennar posted better-than-expected earnings as it sold more homes at higher prices, sending the homebuilder shares up 4.14%.
Other stocks likely to remain in focus included CarMax and KBHome, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the trading session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.43%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.59%, Germany's DAX added 0.25%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.27%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.82%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched down 0.07%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.11%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged up 0.14%.
U.S. stocks remained supported after after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended the central bank’s decision to keep its stimulus program unchanged last week, in comments on Monday.
Dudley said that adjustments to the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program "need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing”.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program.
The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the scale of the bank’s bond buying program.
Separately, U.S. budget talks were to continue this week with the aim of passing a resolution to fund government beyond October 1.
Apple shares climbed 0.45% after the tech giant announced on Monday that sales for its new iPhone had reached a record 9 million units within the first few days of its launch. The company also said there were more than 200 million downloads of its new iOS 7 platform.
Also in the tech sector, BlackBerry retreated 0.79% after saying it will be acquired by Canadian insurance company Fairfax Financial in a deal totaling USD4.7 billion dollars.
Microsoft was also in focus, down 0.75%, after it introduced its next generation Surface tablet at an event in New York City on Monday.
In the financial sector, Citigroup shed 0.87% following a report by the Financial Times saying that a significant drop in the bank's trading revenue during the third quarter could hurt the bank's earnings.
Other U.S. lenders were also trending lower, as JP Morgan tumbled 0.97% and Bank of America declined 0.50%.
Among earnings, Lennar posted better-than-expected earnings as it sold more homes at higher prices, sending the homebuilder shares up 4.14%.
Other stocks likely to remain in focus included CarMax and KBHome, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the trading session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.43%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.59%, Germany's DAX added 0.25%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.27%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.82%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched down 0.07%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence.