Wall Street opens mostly lower

US stock indices opened the second session of the week mixed, with Dow Jones marking fresh record highs near 23,000, buoyed by healthcare shares, while the finance sector weighed on S&P 500 and NASDAQ, both remaining near recent record peaks nonetheless. 

The third-quarter earnings season has started in earnest for major American banks and corporations, with UnitedHealthcare leading the charge higher after reporting strong profits and upgrading its profit forecasts for the current year. 

On the other hand, Goldman Sachs lead the finance sector down, while Morgan Stanley gained ground after forecast-beating earnings results despite the continuous weakening of trade profits. 

Earlier US data showed industrial production grew 0.3% in September in line with expectations, compared to a 0.7% drop in August, revised from a 0.9% fall, while the Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 76.0% from 75.8% in August, missing expectations of 76.2%. 

Markets are pricing in a potential move by US president Donald Trump to choose a hawkish Federal Reserve Chair who would keep up the path of policy tightening after Janet Yellen terms ends next February, with John Taylor moving to the top of the pack of possible candidates after meeting with Trump last week. 

As of 03:26 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 shed 0.03%, or 0.67 points to 2,556.97, while Dow Jones advanced a modest 0.11%, or 26.26 points to 22,983.22. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ shed 0.08%, or 5.28 points to 6,618.72.