The Dow Jones was nursing a triple-digit fall after the long holiday weekend, as US stocks followed global markets lower.
The Dow was off 114 points at 17,836 towards the end of the first hour of trading, as investors played catch-up following yesterday’s market holiday.
The broader-based S&P 500 was down 15 points at 2,088, with resource stocks prominent among the heavy losers.
The mid-cap S&P 400 index was hit harder still, shedding 19 points, or 1.3%, at 1,481 but even that decline was surpassed by the small caps measure, the Russell 2,000 index, which was down 17 points (1.5%) at 1,140.
On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), life sciences group Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) was trading in slimmed-down form, having spun off various assets into a new company called Fortive Corporation.
Danaher’s shares were 23% lower at US$78.49.
In similar vein, on the Nasdaq exchange, EPIRUS Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EPRS) almost halved in value after completing the sale of its wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary.
On a bright note, Insys Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:INSY) advanced 13% to US$15.22 as the US Food and Drug Administration approved its treatment for AIDS and cancer symptoms, Dronabinol, almost two years after previously rejecting an earlier application.