S&P 500 Index opens lower as risk rally fades

• Wall Street's main indexes trade mixed on Tuesday.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average clings to modest gains.
• Falling technology shares weigh on Nasdaq Composite in early trade.

Major equity indexes started the second day of the week mixed as Monday's risk rally seems to have lost its dominance over the financial markets. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% on the day at 29,212, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were down 0.4% and 1.2%, respectively.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Communication Services and the Technology indexes are both down more than 1% in the early trade. On the other hand, the defensive sectors, Real Estate and Utilities, cling to modest gains after the opening bell.

Major cruise liner stocks, which registered impressive gains on coronavirus vaccine optimism on Monday, are the biggest daily percentage decliners. At the moment, Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd shares are down between 6.5% and 4%.

S&P 500 chart (daily)