New York--Wall Street stocks opened lower Tuesday following a big drop in US housing starts as investors awaited the outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,873.90, down 103.52 points (0.58 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 lost 8.89 (0.43 percent) at 2,072.30, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 12.83 (0.26 percent) at 4,916.68.
Housing starts plummeted 17 percent from January to February as severe winter weather depressed activity in much of the country.
Analysts are watching the Fed's two-day policy meeting starting Tuesday. The central bank on Wednesday is expected to signal, in its post-meeting statement, the timing of an increase in near-zero interest rates, perhaps as early as June.
A big rally in US equities Monday was "fueled by hopes the Federal Reserve won't sound overtly hawkish at this week's policy meeting," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
AFP
