US stocks remain cautious, weaker retail sales data weigh

Major US equity indices witnessed a slightly weaker opening on Monday as investors remained cautious following an abrupt sell-off in the last week. 

Worries about the impact of a US-China trade war, coupled with the recent upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields were seen as major factors behind last week’s US-led global equity rout.

Against the backdrop of a fresh leg of an uptick in the US bond yields, escalating diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and the West, over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, added to the cautious mood. 

Meanwhile, a weak reading on the US monthly retail sales figures also did little to boost the sentiment or prompt some fresh buying ahead of the earnings season and further collaborated to the subdued trading action during the opening hour of trade. 

At the time of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average treaded water near Friday's closing level, around 25,340, while the broader S&P 500 Index slipped nearly 5-points to 2,761. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index underperformed the broader markets and dropped over 40-points to 7,455.