Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Tuesday as traders return to their desks after the Independence Day long weekend.
As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.66% at 34,557.51, while the S&P 500 was 0.33% weaker at 4,388.18 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.16% stronger at 14,662.34.
The Dow Jones opened 228.84 points lower on Monday, erasing losses recorded on the last day of trading before the extended break.
In focus early on Tuesday, investors were keeping an eye on oil as prices hit a six-year high after talks between OPEC and its allies were postponed amid rising tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
On the macro front, IHS Markit’s seasonally adjusted services PMI Business Activity Index came in at 64.6 in June, down from 70.4 in May and slightly below the earlier released flash estimate of 64.8 – the third-fastest expansion in output since data collection began in October 2009.
Elsewhere, the IHS’ sector PMI revealed all seven US sectors had seen strong growth in June, led by healthcare, at 67.0 last month, up from 65.1 in May.
Lastly, the Institute of Supply Management’s services PMI declined to 60.1 from 64, missed market expectations for a reading of 63.5.
In the corporate space, Amazon traded higher after Andy Jassy officially took over as chief executive, with Jeff Bezos now switching to the role of executive chairman.
