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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened lower on Monday after a sharp and unexpected fall in U.S. industrial output in September once again cast doubt over the strength of the recovery.
By 9:50 AM ET (1350 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 130 points, or 0.3% at 35,183 points. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was effectively unchanged.
Earlier, new data had shown U.S. industrial output fell by 1.3% in September, after August’s data were also revised down to show a modest drop instead of the increase initially reported. Manufacturing output also fell for a second straight month, by a steeper-than-expected 0.7%. The figures strengthened perceptions that the world is struggling with extended disruptions to global supply chains, a problem exacerbated in the short term by surging fuel prices.
Wholesale Gasoline prices in the U.S. hit $2.50 a gallon for the first time in seven years in early trading in New York, against a backdrop of reports that key producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are struggling to produce even the volumes that they are allowed to produce under their agreement with Russia and other key exporters.
