Investing.com – U.S. stock markets were lower after the open on Tuesday, with commodity sector shares leading declines, as investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy setting meeting.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.21%; the S&P 500 index shed 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 0.03%.
Shares in the commodity sector underperformed as crude oil and metal prices retreated. Shares in Exxon-Mobile Corporation fell 0.82%, oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell tumbled 1.69% and natural gas producer ConocoPhillips saw its shares slump 1.32%.
Shares in the financial sector were mixed ahead of the release of the minutes of the September 21 meeting of the Fed’s Open Market Committee. Shares in Bank of America gained 1.14%, stocks of global investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 0.28%, while Citigroup shed 0.36% and Wells-Fargo declined 0.66%.
In deal news, Chevron Corporation saw its shares fall 1.23%, after it agreed to sell a 23% stake in its privately held Colonial Pipeline Company to private equity firm KKR Financial Holdings for approximately USD 1 billion. Shares in the private equity firm shed 0.34% following the news.
Elsewhere, global biopharmaceutical company Pfizer saw its shares fall 0.32%, after it agreed to acquire U.S.-based King Pharmaceuticals for approximately USD 3.6 billion. Following the news, shares in King Pharmaceuticals soared 39.51%.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were down: France’s CAC 40 fell 0.89%; Germany's DAX shed 0.38%; Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.32%; and the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.81%.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet was to speak at an engagement in New York.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.21%; the S&P 500 index shed 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 0.03%.
Shares in the commodity sector underperformed as crude oil and metal prices retreated. Shares in Exxon-Mobile Corporation fell 0.82%, oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell tumbled 1.69% and natural gas producer ConocoPhillips saw its shares slump 1.32%.
Shares in the financial sector were mixed ahead of the release of the minutes of the September 21 meeting of the Fed’s Open Market Committee. Shares in Bank of America gained 1.14%, stocks of global investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 0.28%, while Citigroup shed 0.36% and Wells-Fargo declined 0.66%.
In deal news, Chevron Corporation saw its shares fall 1.23%, after it agreed to sell a 23% stake in its privately held Colonial Pipeline Company to private equity firm KKR Financial Holdings for approximately USD 1 billion. Shares in the private equity firm shed 0.34% following the news.
Elsewhere, global biopharmaceutical company Pfizer saw its shares fall 0.32%, after it agreed to acquire U.S.-based King Pharmaceuticals for approximately USD 3.6 billion. Following the news, shares in King Pharmaceuticals soared 39.51%.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were down: France’s CAC 40 fell 0.89%; Germany's DAX shed 0.38%; Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.32%; and the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.81%.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet was to speak at an engagement in New York.