New York--Wall Street stocks opened lower Monday in the first day of trade since the weak March jobs report raised doubts about US economic growth.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,684.40, down 78.84 points (0.44 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 lost 6.63 (0.32 percent) at 2,060.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 21.33 (0.44 percent) to 4,865.61
On Friday, the Department of Labor reported that the US economy added just 126,000 jobs in March, half of the expected level and the worst month since December 2013. US equity markets were closed Friday.
William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Monday told a New Jersey gathering that the jobs report suggests that first-quarter growth "is likely to be quite weak."
Dudley said the timing of Fed interest rate hikes is "uncertain" and will remain dependent on economic data.
AFP
