LIVE MARKETS-US stocks modestly red in early trade

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US STOCKS MODESTLY RED EARLY TRADE

U.S. stocks are modestly lower in the early stages of trading, with the Dow .DJI and S&P 500 .SPX slightly red, while the Nasdaq is off around 0.4%.

Equities stumbled to close out the trading week on Friday, with the S&P and Nasdaq dropping more than 1% as investors moved away from technology and AI-related names as earnings and profit outlooks from the likes of Oracle ORCL.N and Broadcom AVGO.O sparked concerns about a potential bubble.

In a light day for economic data, the New York Fed's manufacturing index for December came in at a negative 3.9, below expectations calling for a positive 10. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index climbed one point to 39 this month, the highest reading since April and in line with expectations.

Investors will get a look at key data this week, in the form of the delayed November payrolls report and October retail sales on Tuesday and the November consumer price index on Thursday. Markets are still working through a backlog of economic reports that were postponed due to the 43-day government shutdown.

Healthcare .SPXHC is leading S&P 500 sector gains buoyed by a rise of nearly 2% in Eli Lilly LLY.N, while tech .SPLRCT and energy .SPNY are the worst performers.

ServiceNow NOW.N is the worst performer in the benchmark S&P index, dropping more than 10% after Bloomberg reported the company was in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Armis in a deal that may be valued up to $7 billion.

Below is an early market snapshot:

(Chuck Mikolajczak)

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