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New York - Wall Street markets fell in early trade on Tuesday as investors dumped oilfield stocks as the oil price fell again and Johnson & Johnson tumbled on a fall in revenues.
After 40 minutes of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 54.01 points (0.31%) from Friday's close at 17 457.56.
Markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.
The broad-based S&P 500 lost 3.72 (0.18%) at 2 015.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.75 (0.02%) to 4 633.63.
The losses on Wall Street curtailed a global rally helped by China's 2014 growth report, which beat expectations at 7.3%.
Oil prices lost more than $2 a barrel after the International Monetary Fund sharply cut its forecast for global economic growth this year to 3.5%, on the back of weaker momentum in nearly all leading economies but the United States.
The fall in crude prices took a toll on oil-linked shares. Oilfield service companies Baker Hughes and Halliburton both topped expectations for fourth-quarter profit. But Baker shares were down 2.2% and Halliburton lost 2.0%. Rival Schlumberger gave up 2.4%.
Also hit were big oil firms Chevron (-0.5%) and ExxonMobil (-0.1%) on the Dow.
Dow member Johnson & Johnson beat profits expectations in the fourth quarter but revenues shrank 0.6%, sending its shares down 3.1%.
Delta Air Lines shares jumped 3.6% after it forecast a stronger 2015. The airline reported a fourth-quarter loss on large settlements for fuel price hedges.
Bond prices gained. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.79% from 1.83% Friday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.39% from 2.44%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
