US: Stocks open lower, extending streak of losses

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks fell early Thursday, extending a run of losses, as investors weigh talk of higher US corporate taxes against improving economic data.

Equities fell the last two sessions, with analysts pointing to congressional testimony from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said the Biden administration is considering hiking taxes to finance infrastructure spending.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare warned against making "too much" of current weakness, but said worries over potential tax hikes and the risk of inflation inject "added uncertainty back in the mix" for investors.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7 per cent at 32,189.53.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5 per cent to 3,868.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 per cent to 12,888.10.

Government reports included an upgrade in fourth-quarter economic growth to 4.3 per cent from 4.1 per cent and a drop in weekly jobless claims to 684,000, the first reading below 700,000 since the pandemic sparked mass layoffs.

AFP