New York - US stocks on Monday opened lower, following most international equity markets in a retreat sparked by concerns that the technology sector is overvalued.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 13.55 points (0.08%) to 16 399.16.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 3.36 (0.18%) to 1 861.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 12.36 (0.30%) to 4 -115.36.
The Nasdaq has been especially volatile of late, dropping 2.6% on Friday.
"Tech stocks around the world are being particularly hard hit as valuation has suddenly emerged as a consideration," said Briefing.com.
"The slowdown in enthusiasm for many market leaders and actively traded stocks has raised worries that extreme anxiety will spread more broadly."
Stock markets in Britain, France and Germany were all lower on Monday, with the German DAX falling the most at 1.4%.