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New York - Wall Street stocks were lower in early trade Tuesday as investors looked ahead to Thursday's meeting of the European Central Bank and Friday's US jobs report.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27.13 (0.16%) to 16 716.50, while the S&P 500 dipped 2.11 (0.11%) to 1 922.86.
Both indices have notched records the last couple of days.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1.41 (0.03%) at 4 235.79.
Eurozone inflation slowed to 0.5% in May, official data showed Tuesday, further stoking expectations for fresh stimulus Thursday by the ECB.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare predicted low-volume trade until Thursday and Friday.
There are "relatively high expectations" for both Thursday's ECB action and Friday's US labour market report for May, O'Hare said.
"Market participants have been positioning for some aggressive easing action by the ECB and are anticipating another month of encouraging nonfarm payroll gains," he said.
Brazil-owned US chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride sharply raised it bid for Hillshire Brands to $7.7bn, topping last week's counter-offer by Tyson Foods.
Hillshire said it would enter separate discussions with both.
Hillshire shares shot up 8.9%, while Pilgrim's Pride fell 0.5 percent and Tyson lost 0.9%.
Dow member AT&T raised its forecast for revenue growth from four percent to five percent and trimmed its profit forecast growth from "the mid-single digit range" to "the low-end of the mid-single digit range." Shares slipped 0.1%.
Discount retailer Dollar General advanced 3.3% after reporting first-quarter same-store sales increased 1.5%. The company projected full-year earnings of $3.45-$3.55 per share, on track with analyst expectations for $3.51.
Bond prices fell. The 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.56% from 2.53%, while the 30-year increased to 3.40% from 3.38%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
