Wall Streets opens lower as US-North Korea tensions flare

US stock indices opened lower on Wednesday amid growing concerns in the markets after president Donald Trump warned nuclear nations that might threaten the US with a response filled with "fire and fury", after North Korea said it's considering a missile strike on US Pacific island Guam. 

Earlier, the preliminary reading for labor unit costs showed a 0.6% rise in the second quarter, slowing down sharply from 2.2% in the first quarter, and missing expectations of 1.1%, while non-farm productivity rose 0.9% in the previous quarter, compared to no-change in the first one, and passing expectations of 0.7%. 

As of 03:54 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 fell 0.21%, or 5.10 points to 2,469.89, while Dow Jones shed 0.25%, or 54.50 points to 22,030.84.

Tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped 0.49%, or 30.91 points to 6,339.55.