US stocks edge lower, weighed down by tech stocks

Major US equity indices kicked off a new week on a sluggish note, with bulls largely shrugging off a string of positive corporate earnings.

Against the backdrop of escalating US-China trade conflicts, the US President Donald Trump's strong warning to Iran, via Twitter, resurfaced geopolitical tensions and held investors from placing any aggressive bets.

Adding to this, weakness in the technology sector, ahead of quarterly reports from a clutch of high-flying tech stocks - including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Intel, further contributed to the early fall at the start of a new trading week. 

The downside, however, remained limited amid a trend of strong corporate results, which along with the recent upbeat US economic data might help offset any negative trade headlines and remain supportive for the markets.

At the time of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 20-points to 25,035 and the broader S&P 500 Index slipped back below the 2,800 mark. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost nearly 40-points and was last seen hovering around 7,780.