US stocks fall as oil producers tumble

New York - Wall Street stocks opened lower on Tuesday as petroleum-linked equities took a hit due to a drop in oil prices.

Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron were both down more than one percent after the International Energy Agency predicted the global supply glut would last six months longer than previously thought and slashed its demand outlook.

Markets were also uneasy due to uncertainty about US monetary policy following conflicting statements from Federal Reserve officials in the last couple of days.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18 166.86, down 0.9%.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.9% to 2 139.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.6% to 5 181.75.