US stocks recovered on Tuesday from a bruising selloff on the first trading day of the year, but early gains evaporated as investors remained wary of a global economic slowdown. The shaky start to the year was also underpinned by a fall in crude oil prices. Energy stocks dragged the S&P 500 down, with Exxon and Chevron weighing the most.
Healthcare stocks, however, provided some support, boosted by Gilead and UnitedHealth. Global stocks plunged on Monday, with the Dow making its worst start to a year since 2008, after weak factory data out of China and the United States. The slide prompted the People's Bank of China to inject $20 billion in a bid to stabilise its markets.
"I see 2016 being a year of flat to declining US stocks because there are no catalysts to raise prices," said Mohannad Aama, managing director, Beam Capital Management in New York. At 11:07 am ET (1607 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was down 8.42 points, or 0.05 percent, at 17,140.52, the S&P 500 was up 2.85 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,015.51 and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 8.43 points, or 0.17 percent, at 4,911.52. Six of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 0.82 percent rise in health stocks.
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