US open: Stocks fall at the bell as Trump voices dissatisfaction over China trade talks

Trading on Wall Street began on a sombre note on Wednesday amid ongoing geopolitical concerns ahead of the release of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

At 1440 BST, all major indices were down 0.37% as the Dow dropped to 24,741.54, the S&P 500 fell to 2,714.44 and the Nasdaq bottomed out at 7,351.47.

Stocks ended in the red on Tuesday after President Trump said he was not happy with the progress being made in trade talks between the US and China.

He also said that there is a "very substantial chance" a historic summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-Un next month may not happen.

Konstantinos Anthis, head of research at ADS Securities, said: "Following a remark from US President Donald Trump that the historic meeting with Kim Jong-Un might or might not happen, the dollar is driving higher against the European and commodity currencies while safe-haven assets like the yen and gold are also ticking to the upside."

"The important question is whether this risk-off rally has legs, meaning if we should prepare for a broader re-escalation of geopolitical risks and how this would affect currencies and equities," Anthis added.

Elsewhere, while giving a speech to an anti-abortion group in Washington, Trump hinted that his administration had further tax cuts in store by the end of the year.

Following the Republican Party's $1.5trn tax cut enacted back in December, Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would be "submitting additional tax cuts sometime prior to November".

"It's going to be something very special," the President said.

In corporate news, shares of Tiffany's surged 15.33% in early trade as the jeweller's first-quarter results beat analysts' expectations thanks to strong demand in the US. The company also announced a new $1bn share buyback programme.

Discount store retailer Target lost 4.70% after its first-quarter revenue beat expectations but missed on profits.

Home improvement and appliances retailer Loewes gained 8.63% after the release of its first-quarter results and Tesla gained 0.31% after analysts recommended investors "lean into the fever pitch" of negative sentiment.

Avinger shares rocketed 47% after its Pantheris Lumivascular atherectomy system was granted clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.

On the data front, IHS Markit's manufacturing PMI inched up to 56.6 in May from 56.5 in April, while its services PMI climbed to 55.7 from the 54.6 shown a month earlier.

Economists had predicted manufacturing PMI would be unchanged at its highest level since October 2014 and above the threshold of 50 separating growth from contraction.

Elsewhere, new home sales for April fell, as setbacks seen across the coast and rising borrowing costs and property prices seemed to limit the market's progress, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Single-family home sales declined 1.5% to 662,000 while median sales price increased 0.4% year-on-year to $312,400.

Sales fell 7.9% in the West, while purchases in the Midwest were unchanged and up marginally in the South.

Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting earlier this month were set to be released at 1900 BST.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said, "Last month the US central bank confirmed they were confident the inflation target would be achieved but were less optimistic about growth. Traders are pencilling in an interest rate hike next month, but they remain divided about how many more rate hikes we could see beyond June."