WALL Street opened lower overnight as traders awaited a string of data that will provide an indication of the pace of the US economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 39.96 points (0.40 per cent) to 9969.77 in opening trades, while the broader S&P 500 index lost 4.19 points (0.40 per cent) to 1044.73.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index shed 11.70 points (0.55 per cent) to 2108.27.
"Right now what we have is a huge amount of uncertainty so I wouldn't be surprised if we have wild swings in the market," analyst Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said.
"We have an employment report coming up, we have Labor Day, we have a variety of things that lead to uncertainty at this point. I don't think this market will have any decent trend for an extended period of time."
Trade is expected to remain at very low volume levels throughout the week ahead of the Labor Day holiday on Tuesday, Mr Naroff said.
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"And when you have lower volume you also have greater volatility," he said.
Today will see a string of economic data come in.
The Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller report released before opening trade showed home prices in 10 US cities rose by one per cent in June but at a slower pace than earlier this year for the second straight month.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, released at midnight (AEST) was expected to fall to 50.0 in August from 50.4 the previous month, its lowest level since February.
Later, minutes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be released, expected to reveal "visible divisions within the Fed since there is a lack of consensus on the appropriate policy response to the recent downshift in growth", analysts at Economy.com said.
But the week's most tensely-awaited economic data will be Saturday employment report, with most analysts forecasting non-farm payrolls to fall by 118,000 in August and unemployment to edge up to 9.6 per cent from the current 9.5 per cent rate.
Tomorrow, the Institute for Supply Management index is expected to show slower manufacturing output.
Yesterday, US stocks slumped over weak consumer spending figures.
US shares mixed ahead of housing dataHome sales take unexpected dip
