Wall Street opens lower as Apple leads tech sector down

US stock indices opened the fourth session of the week lower with Apple leading the decline in the tech sector, as the first-quarter earnings season progresses for major American banks and corporations. 

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard spoke earlier today about regulatory reform at the Global Finance Forum, in Washington DC, while earlier today showed unemployment claims fell 1 thousand to 232 thousand from 233 thousand, above expectations of 230K. 

The Philly Manufacturing Index rose to 23.2 from 22.3 in March, beating expectations of 20.8, while Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles testified on supervision and regulation before the Senate Banking Committee, in Washington DC.

As of 02:17 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 fell 0.30%, or 8.15 points to 2,700.49, while Dow Jones declined 0.14%, or 34.47 points to 24,713.60. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ dipped 0.29%, or 21.06 points to 7,274.18.