US stocks have followed European and Asian markets lower in opening Columbus Day trade, giving up some of last week's solid gains ahead of the third quarter earnings reporting season.
Five minutes into trade, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 43.95 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 13,566.20.
The broad-based SP 500 dropped 6.14, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,454.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 20.34, or 0.65 per cent, to 3,115.85.
