US open: Mixed trading at the bell following heightened geopolitical tensions with China
Wall Street started off with some mixed trading on Tuesday amid geopolitical tensions between the US and China and increased volatility in Italy.
As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones was up 0.07% to 26,670.76, while the S&P 500 was down 0.09% to 2,921.99 and the Nasdaq was 0.11% weaker 8,028.43.
The Dow Jones started the day flat at 26,660 despite the dollar levelling up against the pound and the euro, leaving the greenback at three and six-week highs, respectively.
"Investors were clearly buoyed by the USMCA announcement at the start of the week, with the deal removing one of a number of economic risks for the global economy and potentially acting as a roadmap for similar negotiations with others," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
However, before the bell had even rung, Erlam noted that positivity hadn't lasted long, with stocks looking set to take their lead from European markets, which have had a number of their own problems of late.
Elsewhere, US Navy officials accused China's military of "unsafe and unprofessional" behaviour around one of the reefs occupied by the Asian giant in the South China Sea overnight.
In other news, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was dipping by two basis points to 3.06%, helped by safe-haven flows linked to the ongoing budget squabble between Brussels and Rome.
In corporate news, online retailer Amazon dipped 0.72% after it announced plans to raise its minimum wage for US and UK workers in London to $15.0 and £10.5 an hour, respectively.
For British workers outside out of London, it would go up to £9.50.
PepsiCo lost 2.01% in early trade despite topping analysts' estimates for its third quarter, reporting earnings per share, excluding one-off charges, and of $1.59 (consensus: $1.57) and $16.49bn (consensus: $16.37bn), respectively.
Separately, search engine Elastic NV raised the price range for its planned listing to between $33 and $35 per share, versus a prior range for between $26 to $29.
On the data front, no major economic releases were scheduled.
However, both Federal Reserve vice-chairman, Randal Quarles, and his boss, Jerome Powell, were set to deliver remarks later in the day.