Stock market today: Wall Street slips ahead of job market data

U.S. stocks drifted lower as investors await a trove of labor market data this week. 

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% in early trading Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 148 points, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1%. 

A handful of companies are still reporting earnings. Designer Brands, the owner of Designer Shoe Warehouse, sank 20% after after its first-quarter profit came in below forecasts. 

Later Tuesday, the government will report how many job openings employers were advertising at the end of April. 

An even bigger focus for markets will be the monthly job market survey due out on Friday.

AP’s earlier story follows below.U.S. markets drifted lower before the bell Tuesday as investors await a trove of labor market data this week. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell about 0.3% before the bell.

A handful of companies are still reporting earnings ahead of this week's highlight event, Friday's May jobs report.

Bath & Body Works tumbled more than 7% before the bell, even as the retailer beat Wall Street's first-quarter sales and profit targets and raised guidance. 

The improved forecast, which is still calling for a likely decline in sales, was not enough to keep investors from dumping shares.

Designer Brands, the owner of Designer Shoe Warehouse store chain, slipped more than 9% after its first-quarter profit came in below analyst forecasts.

Later Tuesday, the U.S. government will show how many job openings employers were advertising at the end of April. 

The government's weekly layoffs report comes Thursday, while the jobs report on Friday will give show overall growth for jobs and workers’ wages, something the Federal Reserve will consider when it holds its monetary policy meeting later this month.

Elsewhere, India’s Sensex dropped as much as 8% early as investors who had bought shares after exit polls showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning a third term sold to lock in profits. 

By mid-afternoon, the Sensex in Mumbai was down 5.7% at 72,079.05 as the vote count for the country's six-week-long national election appeared to show a lower-than-expected seat count for Modi's party, although his National Democratic Alliance was comfortably leading its closest rival. 

In midday European trading, Germany's DAX fell 0.7%, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.4% and Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.3%. 

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2% to 38,837.46 and the Kospi in Seoul gave up 0.8% to 2,662.10. Chinese shares recouped early losses amid reports that the property market might be stabilizing, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.2% at 18,444.11. 

The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.4% to 3,091.20. 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 7,737.10. Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.8%. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury stabilized at 4.38% early Tuesday. On Monday, it fell to 4.39% from 4.50% late Friday. 

U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $1.38 to $72.84 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange early Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $1.24 to $77.12 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar weakened as doubts about the U.S. economy raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year. 

The dollar slipped to 154.89 Japanese yen from 156.10 yen. 

The euro fell to $1.0866 from $1.0904. On Monday, U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish.The S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher and the Dow dropped 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%.