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NEW YORK - US STOCK markets opened lower on Wednesday as the government reported an unexpected decline in factory orders for big-ticket goods and as US telecom giant Motorola Inc. said it would split into two independent firms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had declined 71.15 points (0.57 per cent) to 12,461.45 shortly after Wall Street opened for business.
The tech-based Nasdaq composite fell 13.84 points (0.59 per cent) to 2,327.21 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 7.66 points (0.57 per cent) at 1,345.33.
The 1.7 per cent drop in durable goods orders during February continued the flow of subdued US economic news, especially as most analysts had been expecting factory orders to rebound last month.
On the corporate front, Motorola announced its break up into two publicly-traded companies, consisting of mobile devices and broadband and mobility respectively, following a lengthy review of its operations.
The telecom group has faced fierce competition from foreign rivals and seen its earnings decline in the past year.
Market participants said they were also awaiting the release of a report on February new home sales later Wednesday morning which is expected to show sales declined amid a persistent housing downturn. -- AFP
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