NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks dipped early Monday with worries about trade protectionism pressuring global markets, while petroleum-linked equities fell on the latest drop in oil prices.
Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron were among the equities in retreat as US oil prices slipped further below $50 a barrel on worries about excess supply in the US market.
Analysts also cited uncertainty about a range of US policy debates in Washington and unease after G20 ministers backed away from a long-standing commitment to avoid trade protectionism.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 20.911.95, down less than 0.1 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent at 2,374.95, Nasdaq Composite Index dropped less than 0.1 percent at 5,898.61.
European markets also retreated, a decline attributed to the G20 shift, which followed the Trump administration's stance at a meeting the group's finance ministers and central bank governors in Germany.
"We see a continuation of the gradual rise in protectionism in recent years and for globalization to stall, but we see a major rise in protectionism -- including the risk of trade wars -- as one of the main risks to the global outlook," said Citi analyst Ebrahim Rahbari.
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