S&P 500 Index opens modestly lower pressured by falling energy stocks

• Wall Street's main indexes remain on the back foot.
• Energy stocks continue to push lower amid slumping oil prices.
• S&P 500 Communication Services Index is down nearly 1%. 

After closing the first two days of the week in the negative territory, major equity indexes opened lower on Wednesday as investors preserve their cautious stance. As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.2% on the day at 4,125, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 0.1% at 33,845 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 0.45% at 13,748.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is posting heavy losses for the second straight day pressured by a more-than-1% decline in US crude oil prices. The Communication Services Index is also down 1% amid the poor performance witnessed in FAANG stocks.

On the other hand, the Materials Index and the Healthcare Index both gain around 0.5% as the best-performing major sectors after the opening bell.

S&P 500 chart (daily)