No major economic releases were expected but investors are watching this week's G8 summit, starting Wednesday, to see what leaders, including President Barack Obama, say about the economy. --PHOTO: AP
NEW YORK - STOCKS are mostly lower as investors await more clues about the US economy.
The decline in the stock market early Tuesday follows mixed moves in overseas markets.
No major economic releases were expected but investors are watching this week's G8 summit, starting Wednesday, to see what leaders, including President Barack Obama, say about the economy.
They are also awaiting the start of second-quarter earnings reports.
Investors have become more tentative in recent weeks after the market's spring rally and are now trading cautiously. Some fear they might have been too optimistic in March and April about how soon the economy will recover from the recession.
'Our view is that the economy is still in a precarious state,' said Ben Halliburton, chief investment officer of Tradition Capital Management in Summit, New Jersey. 'The weak consumer, driven by very high unemployment, destroyed wealth and unavailable credit is going to continue to be a major drag on the US economy.'
In the first half hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrials fell 39.22, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,285.65.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.69, or 0.4 per cent, to 895.03 and the Nasdaq composite index lost 4.03, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,783.37. -- AP
