Wall St opens lower; defence firms up as Trump calls for budget boost

[NEW YORK] Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Thursday (Jan 8), as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday’s crucial nonfarm payrolls report, while defence companies advanced after President Donald Trump called for a US$1.5 trillion military budget.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145.9 points, or 0.30 per cent, at the open to 48,850.17. The S&P 500 fell 6.8 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 6,914.11​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 35.4 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 23,548.884. REUTERS