US stocks weaker during early trade

Major US equity indices witnessed a weaker opening on Thursday as investors digested overnight dovish FOMC meeting minutes and looked forward to earnings from retail heavyweight Wal-Mart.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 75-points to 21,950, while the broader S&P 500 Index lost over 6-points to 2,462. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 20-points to 6,325.

Investors' sentiment was also being weighed down by the US President Donald Trump's abrupt disbanding of manufacturing and strategic councils. Adding to this, a follow through retracement in crude oil prices further dented investors’ appetite for riskier assets and further collaborated to the softer tone around equity markets.

Today’s key focus would be on comments from a couple of FOMC members - Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan and Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari, scheduled to speak later during the NY session.

Also in focus would be any fresh news on the N. Korean front as Trump is rumoured to have asked his military advisors about credible military options.

On the US economic data front, initial jobless claims for the week ended August 13 declined by 12K, which to some extent was negated by a further drop in the Philly Fed manufacturing index and weaker than expected industrial production data.