US stocks turn lower during opening trade

Major US equity indices struggled to gain traction and opened mildly lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), after closing at an all-time high in the previous session, leading the slide. 

At the time of reporting, DJIA dropped nearly 20-points and dipped below 19,200 mark, while the broader S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index were little changed from yesterday's closing level at 2,203 and 5,507 respectively. 

On economic data front, the US international trade deficit for October jumped almost 18% in October and climbed to a four-month high of $42.6 billion, sharply higher from a revised $36.2 billion in September. The sharp rise in international trade deficit was primarily driven by a rise in imports, which rose to the highest level in 14 months.

Investors on Tuesday also seemed cautious ahead of the next key fundamental trigger, FOMC policy meeting on December 13-14. With December rate-hike already discounted by the market, and with the Fed entering its 'blackout' period on Tuesday, traders are likely to remain on the sidelines as an ultra hawkish Fed would point to faster-than-expected rate-tightening cycle in 2017 and a tighter monetary policy tends to weigh heavily on riskier assets - like equities.