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New York - US stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday after Home Depot disclosed that hackers infiltrated its payment system and ahead of an Apple event that is expected to launch new products.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.11 points to 17 032.31.
The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.34% to 1 994.69 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.25% at 4 580.69 points.
Dow member Home Depot fell 1.3% after confirming late Monday that its payment data systems had been breached, potentially affecting customers using charge cards in the US and Canada.
A leading data security expert said Home Depot had been hit by a variant of the same malware that infected retail giant Target in one of the biggest known security breaches.
Apple, the biggest US company by market capitalisation, rose 1.2% ahead of the expected unveiling in California of new versions of the iPhone and potentially a wearable device.
Banking stocks, including JPMorgan Chase (-1.5%) and Citigroup (-1.2%) dropped on reports that US regulators will require bigger capital cushions at the largest banks. The Wall Street Journal reported that a Federal Reserve official will propose the change at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Dow member McDonald's dropped 0.4% as it reported that August global comparable sales fell 3.7% due in part to 14.5% decline in its Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa division following a food safety scandal in China.
Food company General Mills declined 0.4% after announcing that it would acquire organic foods company Annie's in a deal valued at $820m. General Mills said the purchase would enhance its position in an increasingly popular business segment.
Shares of Annie's surged 37.4%.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.49% from 2.47% on Monday, while the 30-year increased to 3.23% from 3.22%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
