US stocks under pressure as virus hits economy

Wall Street stocks opened mostly lower early Monday as Congress wrangled over a massive stimulus package while the Federal Reserve unveiled new emergency programs to boost the economy.

A few minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8 percent at 19,014.47.

The broad-based S&P 500 also dropped 0.8 per cent to 2,285.83, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 per cent at 6,888.80.

Last week saw US indices suffer their worst week since 2008 amid forecasts of a deep economic slowdown in the second quarter due to mass layoffs.