US stocks took a breather from the wild swings of the previous week as they ended mostly weaker on Monday, but losses were modest as most players were content to see the major indices consolidate in narrow-ranged business.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.35% to end at 25,250.
Last Wednesday and Thursday, the Dow dropped a total of more than 1,300 points as rising treasury yields and the US-China trade war took their toll on the market.
The focus is now poised to turn to quarterly results which began in earnest late last week with major US banks turning in their numbers.
The S&P 500 eased 0.59% to finish at 2,750.
The Nasdaq slid 0.88% to settle at 7,430.
The Russell 2000 was the only gainer among US indices, rising 0.54% to conclude at 1,555.
In Canada, the TSX was up 0.17% to trade around 15,440.
12:22 PM: Tech stocks drag down the US benchmarks in afternoon trading
The major US indices were in the red this afternoon as tech stocks weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 45 points, dragged lower by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO).
The S&P 500 was down about 10 points by midday.
L3 Technologies Inc (NYSE:LLL) and Harris Corp (NYSE:HRS) were top gainers on the index following their merger, making the combined company the sixth-largest defense contractor in the US.
The Nasdaq sank more than 60 points. Chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) were two of the top decliners on the tech-heavy index.
The Russell 2000 saw slight gains this afternoon. Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) was the worst-performing stock on the small-cap index after the retailer filed for bankruptcy.
Up north, the TSX was down about 14 points with mining stocks on the rise.
10:00 AM: US stocks fall at the start and fail to recover from last week's losses
US stocks dropped at the open on Monday, failing to pull back from deep losses sustained last week, as concerns about higher interest rates still cast a pall over markets.
Investors’ worries that rising interest rates will lead to higher borrowing costs and dampen economic growth are mounting, as the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds is now at 3.154% after hitting a seven-year high of 3.26% last week.
Early in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index dropped by 50 points to 25,289, held back by Visa, Microsoft Corp, Boeing, Home Depot and Apple.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, shed 7 points to 2,759 while the Russell 2000 index of small-caps bucked the trend to add 1.3 points and hover at 1,546.
Oil prices also rose in the wake of a threat from Saudi Arabia that it plans to retaliate if the US imposes sanctions on the country over the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped nearly 1 per cent to $81.11 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate added 0.6 per cent to $71.74 per barrel.
The tech-laden Nasdaq, meanwhile, lost 52 points to 7,446, pushed down by Ctrip.Com International Ltd, Activision Blizzard Inc, Take-Two Interactive Solutions, MercadoLibre and Adobe Inc and Align Technology.
The fall in US benchmarks comes as the latest round of quarterly reporting kicks off in the US, with Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson on the list of companies which are set to post third-quarter results this week.
Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX shook off the negative sentiment coming from the US and traded 39 points higher to hit 15,453 as the country's energy stocks benefited from rising oil prices.
7:06 AM: US shares seen starting lower as Brexit woes and Saudi tensions permeate markets
US stocks are seen starting lower ahead of a big week for corporate earnings and as investors are jittery over Brexit proceedings in the UK.
Also in focus in pre-market US deals is famous retailer Sears Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), which has now filed for bankruptcy in the early hours of Monday.
Debt problems have done for the 125 year old firm, which was faced with a $134mln payment due today.
Some big banks like JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) posted posiive earnings on Friday and stocks went higher.
Today, traders await Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE: SCHW) earnings.
On Wall Street Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 287 points higher at 25,339; the Nasdaq added 167 at 7,496. The S&P 500 gained over 38 points to stand at 2,767.
In futures trade, the Dow Jones shed 108 points; the Nasdaq is down 57, while the S&P 500 is down 13.
In London, FTSE 100 has slipped around four points into the red after talks in Brussels reached an impasse late yesterday on Britain's withdrawal from the EU, while the German DAX is up 22 and the CAC 40 is off nearly 15 points.
BREAKING: Theresa May to make a statement to Parliament this afternoon on Brexit negotiations. She usually only does this after EU summits, so this is out of the ordinary.
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) 15 October 2018
Also gaining traction in pre-market is news of the disappearance of a dissident Saudi journalist who worked for the Washington Post.
President Trump has threatened Saudi Arabia with severe punishment if it transpires that the journalist who was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has been killed.
Fiona Cinccotta, at City Index in London, said: "...tempers are running high, Saudi stocks have dropped 7% over the weekend and now the country is considering economic retaliation.
"So far the oil market is withstanding the verbal war and though prices are slightly higher, Brent crude 0.81% and WTI 0.53%, they are a good $5 below the peak last week when concerns over Iranian sanctions and Hurricane Michael whipped up Brent prices to $86. European oil traders are taking the exchange with a pinch of salt but that may change once US markets open."