US Stocks Open Lower as Southwest Shares Dive

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Wall Street stocks dipped early Tuesday as markets struggled to produce a “Santa Claus” rally while Southwest Airlines shares tumbled on operating difficulties in the wake of a massive winter storm. news online

In the first session of trading of the week — since the United States observed the Christmas holiday on Monday this year — major indices were in the red, bucking hopes for what is known as the “Santa Claus rally” period.

The seven-session stretch over the weeks of Christmas and New Year typically sees stocks drifting higher amid light trading volumes.

Though it doesn’t always produce gains, “there is a buzz about the Santa Claus rally period every year, partially because the news flow this time of year is typically light and, well, market participants need something to buzz about,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3 percent at 33,121.58.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 percent to 3,819.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.3 percent to 10,359.39.

Among individual companies, Southwest Airlines sank 6.1 percent as it continued to cancel a significant number of flights even as bad weekend weather cleared and other carriers resumed normal operations.

The US Department of Transportation said in a statement it was “concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays,” and vowed to “examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”

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