A minute after the start of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq index fell 0.7 percent, reaching 14,744.09 points, while the Dow Jones index fell 0.5 percent, reaching 37,492.23 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.5 percent to 4,738.40 points.
The yield on ten-year US government bonds is 4.03 percent, while the VIX index, also called the fear index, is rising 2.8 percent to 13.44.
According to Handelsbanken, market optimism about early interest rate cuts has diminished. The market now places a 60 percent chance of a rate cut in March, while the chance was 87 percent a week ago.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing was one of the biggest losers in the stock market on Monday, with prices falling by as much as eight percent. This happened after 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft were grounded after an accident involving a new Alaska Airlines plane that suffered a hole in the fuselage 20 minutes into the flight. On Tuesday, Boeing shares fell 1.9 percent in opening minutes.
The US trade balance showed a deficit of $63.2 billion in November, down from a revised deficit of $64.5 billion in October. According to Trading Economics, a deficit of $65.0 billion was expected.
The National Federation of Independent Business's US Confidence Index closed at 91.9 points in December, up from 90.6 points in November. According to Trading Economics, the index was expected to reach 90.7 points.
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