US stocks retreat on rising geopolitical tensions

Major US equity indices witnessed a weaker opening on Wednesday and extended their retreat from record levels amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and N. Korea.

In response to the US President Donald Trump's warning, N. Korea threatened a missile strike on the US Pacific territory of Guam. With volatility (VIX) near all time lows, investors used the geopolitical issues as an opportunity to take some profits off the table, especially after a prolonged period of bullish momentum. 

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 60-points to 22,025, while the broader S&P 500 Index slipped 9-points to 2,465. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index underperformed the broader indices and fell over 50-points to 6,318.

Also collaborating to the early weakness was a sharp drop in the shares of Walt Disney, which fell around 5.0% on Wednesday. Among other individual movers, shares of Priceline Group, TripAdvisor, Office Depot and Mylan fell anywhere between 5.0% and 20.0% on weaker-than-expected quarterly results.