US equity indices retreat from key psychological levels

On the first day of a new trading week, major US equity indices witnessed a subdued opening as investors look beyond the closely watched French Presidential election.

Given that markets were already positioned for Emmanuel Macron’s victory, easing concerns over turmoil in the Euro-zone did little to boost sentiment and investors struggled to find any fresh catalyst to resume buying stocks. 

At the time of writing, all the three major indices were seen retracing from important psychological round figure marks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded lower by 20-points to 20,988, while the broader S&P 500 Index lost nearly 3-points to 2,396. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped around 5-points to 6,095.

The markets failed to get any directional cues from today's relatively thin US economic docket, lacking any top-tier macroeconomic data.

Meanwhile, markets seemed to have largely ignored comments from Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester, noting that the central bank's goals were largely met and interest rate hikes were on track, which seems to have been negated by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard comments nothing that the rise in demand for safe assets remains strong and there was no need to rush rate hikes.