US stocks fell in opening trade overnight with sentiment hurt by a disappointing response to Citigroup's share offering that prompted the government to delay the sale of its stake in the banking giant.
A downgrade of Greece's sovereign credit rating and lingering jitters about the US Federal Reserve's exit strategy from its stimulus effort also weighed on the markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 52.98 points (0.51 per cent) to 10,388.14 and the Nasdaq shed 13.79 points (0.62 per cent) to 2193.12 in the first exchanges.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 6.51 points (0.59 per cent) to 1102.67.
The market action came after Citi said the US government is delaying the sale of its stake as the company faced weak demand for a share offering.
Global markets were struggling as well on concerns about debt levels for a number of nations after ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered Greece's long-term credit rating and warned it could drop the level further unless the government managed to get its finances in order.
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"An S&P downgrade of Greece's sovereign debt and Citigroup's struggle to raise capital are two developments contributing to the market's angst," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve extended its record-low interest rates and reaffirmed this policy would remain in place "for an extended period" to support a still-precarious economic recovery.
But it also said it would terminate many emergency lending programs in 2010 as scheduled, causing some consternation.
Mr O'Hare said the Fed announcement "a positive message in that it reflects growing confidence on the Fed's part that the financial sector is stabilising", but added that "judging by the market's response, we're not so sure the market shares that same level of confidence".
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