US stocks fall amid inflation worries, Capitol Hill fog

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were lower early Monday amid anxiety over inflation and uncertainty in Congress as markets await closely watched economic data later in the week.

Worries about inflation remain front and center following a series of company announcements in recent days about higher costs to ship goods and raw materials.

Analysts are also focused on an unpredictable legislative environment for President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social spending program. Democrats have yet to coalesce around a compromise, while Republicans have signaled broad opposition to most of Biden's efforts.

About 35 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down less than 0.1 percent at 34,314.81.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.6 percent to 4,332.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.4 percent to 14,362.72.

S&P 500 turns flat after Fitch warning; Merck boosts Dow

Among individual companies, Tesla jumped 3.7 percent after announcing better-than-expected third-quarter car deliveries.

Facebook dropped 3.6 percent as the company faces deepening scrutiny over its operations. Whistleblower Frances Haugen told television news show "60 Minutes" the company repeatedly chose "profit over safety" in managing the omnipresent social media company.

This week's calendar includes several key reports, culminating with Friday's jobs data for September.