WASHINGTON: Wall Street stocks fell early Monday amid lingering inflation worries ahead of earnings later in the week from Walmart and other large retailers.

Concerns over rising inflation and a potential lurch in Federal Reserve monetary policy have pressured markets in recent weeks, leading to occasional waves of selling followed by bargain hunting.

"The markets narrative has quickly pivoted to concerns over rising inflation and the potential for policymakers to rein in support sooner than expected," said Art Hogan of National Securities.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5 percent at 34,226.03.

The broad-based S&P 500 also fell 0.5 percent to 4,154.81, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.6 percent to 13,349.21.

Among individual companies, AT&T jumped 4.2 percent after agreeing to spin off its media companies, including HBO and CNN, with Discovery Network.

Discovery also advanced 4.2 percent.

Microsoft fell 1.0 percent following a report that founder Bill Gates left the company's board in 2020 during an investigation of the billionaire founder's relationship with a female employee.